1 rich Libsyn https://www.libsyn.com 300 600 Control what you're billed on. Tokens are the currency of AI, and how you design your app determines how many you spend. Compress conversation history instead of resending it raw, cap output tokens with matching prompt instructions, and cache static context so each reuse costs a fraction of the first request. Route each prompt to the right model by complexity, or set Model Router in Microsoft Foundry to handle that automatically — balanced, quality, or cost mode. Then optimize the whole stack. Run Agent Optimizer to test your prompt, model, and tool configurations together and surface better setups. Use Toolbox to dynamically select only the tools each request needs and cut input token overhead by 90%.&amp;nbsp; April Gittens, Microsoft Principal Cloud Advocate, joins Jeremy Chapman, Microsoft 365 Director, to share how to seize control of AI token spend through smarter app design.&amp;nbsp; ► QUICK LINKS:&amp;nbsp; 00:00 - Tokenomics foundation 01:06 - Token cost basics 02:11 - Context Window creep 03:46 - Reduce unnecessary tokens 04:29 - Trim context costs 05:21 - Cap output tokens 06:27 - Cache for savings 07:54 - Model cost tradeoffs 09:15 - Model Router 09:42 - Toolbox in Microsoft Foundry Toolbox 11:18 - Agent Optimizer 12:44 - Other cost drivers 13:57 - Wrap up ► Link References Check out the tools in Microsoft Foundry at https://ai.azure.com For more about managing AI costs go to&amp;nbsp;https://aka.ms/FoundryTokenomics ► Unfamiliar with Microsoft Mechanics? As Microsoft's official video series for IT, you can watch and share valuable content and demos of current and upcoming tech from the people who build it at Microsoft. • Subscribe to our YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/MicrosoftMechanicsSeries • Talk with other IT Pros, join us on the Microsoft Tech Community: https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/microsoft-mechanics-blog/bg-p/MicrosoftMechanicsBlog • Watch or listen from anywhere, subscribe to our podcast:&amp;nbsp;https://microsoftmechanics.libsyn.com/podcast ► Keep getting this insider knowledge, join us on social: • Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MSFTMechanics • Share knowledge on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/microsoft-mechanics/ • Enjoy us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/msftmechanics/ • Loosen up with us on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@msftmechanics Microsoft Mechanics Podcast http://microsoftmechanics.libsyn.com/podcast <iframe title="Libsyn Player" style="border: none" src="//html5-player.libsyn.com/embed/episode/id/42007830/height/300/theme/custom/thumbnail/yes/direction/forward/render-playlist/no/custom-color/2576bb/" height="300" width="600" scrolling="no" allowfullscreen webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen oallowfullscreen msallowfullscreen></iframe> https://assets.libsyn.com/secure/content/203909875