Definition
Model routing
Sending different tasks to different underlying models based on which performs best on that task type. CEOfriend routes across Gemini, ChatGPT, Claude, and Grok.
From the episode “How to Automate a Board of Advisors for $29 a Month”How founders on the podcast use it
Directing each task to the model best suited for it based on speed, cost, and quality rather than defaulting to the newest release.
From Apple To Animals: The Pivot That Built A 6-Continent AI Company In 30 MonthsAn emerging category that tries to send each request to the ideal model automatically. Nobody has perfected it yet.
40,000 Models, One API Key, and a $25M Bet on Open SourceAutomatically sending each task to the cheapest model that can do it well, instead of defaulting everything to the most expensive one.
Tokens Go to Zero, Energy Goes to Zero: What Do You Build When Intelligence Is Free?Hear it on the podcast4 episodes
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Related terms in AI Fundamentals
Model agnosticNot tied to one underlying AI model — able to route the same task across many models depending on cost, speed, or capability.Model CardA standardized documentation artifact that accompanies a machine learning model, reporting performance metrics broken down by demographic group and intersectional group. Used to detect and disclose bias before deployment.Model driftWhen a model's accuracy slips over time because the real-world data it sees no longer looks like the data it was trained on.Model GatewayA routing layer that automatically sends tasks to the cheapest model capable of handling them, enabling cost control at scale without sacrificing output quality.Modular GuardrailsBrand-safety constraints applied at the personality layer.MultimodalAble to process more than text, including images and audio. Dobbin reads layouts and critiques them against stated principles.Multimodal AIAI that can work with several types of data at once, such as text, images, audio, and video.Neural networkA model loosely inspired by the brain, made of layers of connected artificial neurons that pass signals and learn by adjusting their connections.