Governance visual guide
Cost, capacity, and spend control
How cost estimation, capacity planning, spend monitoring, and brake mechanisms work together to control AI service costs.
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What this shows
Controlling AI spend requires a continuous loop: estimate workload costs from token projections, allocate budgets as hard ceilings, provision the right capacity, monitor spend in real time, engage automated spend brakes at critical thresholds, and periodically audit and adjust based on actual usage data.
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Key takeaways
- Budget is a hard ceiling — every agent run checks remaining budget before starting.
- Spend brakes must be tested regularly; an untested brake is not a brake.
- Continuous adjustment based on real usage data is the difference between controlled spend and surprise bills.