Budget for AI usage, evaluation and operations
CodeAstra Tech · Engineering decision guide
Start with the problem
The model bill is only one part of the operating cost. Include document processing, storage, retrieval, observability, evaluation and the people who review exceptions.
Define the scope
Estimate requests per completed task, average context size, output size and retry behavior. Use realistic examples rather than assuming one short request per user.
Check the failure cases
Define usage limits and the behavior when a limit is reached. Cache only where privacy, freshness and access rules permit it.
Make the decision
Check current provider prices before quoting recurring costs. Record assumptions and review real usage after launch; do not promise a fixed monthly cost for unbounded usage.