You cannot optimize what you do not measure. Cost control starts with visibility at prompt and channel level.
Where cost spikes come from
- Large prompts with repeated context.
- Expensive model selected for simple intents.
- No rate limits on noisy users/channels.
- Repeated retries without fallback logic.
Practical optimization moves
- Route low-complexity intents to lower-cost models.
- Trim prompt templates and remove duplicate context.
- Add request limits and abuse controls.
- Cache high-frequency deterministic responses.
- Monitor cost per successful resolution, not just per token.
Budget controls
- Daily budget threshold with alert.
- Per-user and per-channel usage caps.
- Automatic downgrade fallback under pressure.
Governance baseline
- Log which model served each request.
- Keep versioned prompt changes.
- Review weekly spend anomalies.
The right objective is stable user experience within predictable margin, not absolute minimum token spend.