AI cost control
Price the accepted outcome—not the generated draft.
Provider input and output are only part of the cost. Include retrieval, tools, repeated attempts, human review, correction, escalation, infrastructure and assurance. A generated draft is not automatically an accepted business outcome.
Total outcome cost = provider + tools + retrieval + review + correction + failure + escalation + operations + assurance
An evaluation should distinguish accepted, correct and authorised work from attempts, drafts and unresolved obligations. Clarification or refusal can be the right response without completing the underlying business objective.
Model eligibility, reasoning settings and budgets should match the task and its deadline. The current console exposes separate financial views, but demonstration figures are synthetic. Reliable invoice reconciliation, representative review costs and customer unit economics still need qualification.
No percentage saving, self-hosting break-even, margin or performance guarantee is published without workload and contractual evidence.