| Mobile Web

Companies face cost shock as users overuse top-tier AI models despite 100-fold token price gap

Top-tier AI models can cost up to 100 times more per token than smaller models, but many companies and users apply premium models even to simple tasks such as emails and summaries. Token use is also rising as AI agents and automation tools spread, making model choice and usage control central to cost management. The article cites internal leaderboard-driven usage at big tech firms and outlines steps to cut bills, including model routing, prompt control, caching and spending limits.