Dictionary term
Model Routing
Also called LLM routing · model router
Model routing sends each request to a different model based on its difficulty, type or cost, typically by classifying the input first, so easy requests go to a small, cheap model and hard ones go to a more capable model.
In plain English
Model routing means using a cheap, fast AI for easy jobs and saving the expensive, smart AI for the hard ones.
Analogy
Like a front desk that answers simple questions itself and only passes complex cases to the senior specialist.
Why it matters
At volume, sending every request to the strongest model wastes money and time. A router cuts cost while keeping quality on hard cases, but it needs evals to confirm that misrouted requests aren't hurting results.
In practice
A support automation classifies each incoming ticket. Password-reset and opening-hours questions go to a small model, and billing disputes go to a flagship model with access to the customer's payment history.
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Sources
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