A recent survey reveals that only 11% of businesses can accurately forecast their AI spending, with most missing their estimates by significant margins. Unlike traditional software, AI acts more like a human worker by taking actions, making decisions, and occasionally making mistakes on the clock. Research shows that lower-priced AI models can actually cost more overall than premium models because they may require many more steps or fail entirely. Even identical prompts run through the same model can yield drastically different token counts and costs each time they are executed. Companies must implement strict cost-management strategies—such as employee training and spending caps—to avoid receiving unpredictable, black-box IT bills.

Full in-depth : As companies adopt artificial intelligence, unpredictable token usage and unpredictable model efficiency are leading to surprise corporate expenses.