Lesson 3 of 10 · Cut AI Product Costs Without Killing Quality
In this lesson. A small model first, a large model on hard cases.
What you will learn
- Easy versus hard cases
- Confidence and gold-set triggers
- Fallback copy when routing fails
Walkthrough
You will design a router: easy classification or extraction on a cheap model, escalate on low confidence or on a gold set miss. Routing is the highest-leverage cut that still feels good. You will also write the fallback so users never see a silent failure.
Work through the ideas in order. After each point, pause and connect it to a task you already do — a document, a workflow, or a feature you own. The goal of Cut AI Product Costs Without Killing Quality is usable skill, not a pile of notes.
If something is unclear, rewrite it in your own words before you continue. Teaching the step back to yourself is the fastest way to see gaps.
Practice
Split 20 real examples into cheap-path and expensive-path. Note the rule you used.
Keep the first attempt small. A finished example you can reuse beats a perfect plan you never run.
Check your understanding
- Can you explain the goal of this lesson in one sentence to a teammate?
- Where would you apply “Easy versus hard cases” in your own work this week?
- What would you change on a second pass of the practice?
Next. Continue to the following lesson when the practice has a real artifact, even a rough one.