- Token Usage:
- Every message you send (input) and every response the LLM generates (output) consists of tokens.
- The number of tokens used depends on the length and complexity of the conversation.
- Cost Structure:
- The company or individual accessing the API (not the end-user) is typically charged based on the number of tokens processed.
- There’s usually a cost for both input tokens (your messages) and output tokens (LLM responses).
- Invisible to End-Users:
- As an end-user, you don’t directly see or pay for the token usage or associated costs.
- The token counting and billing happen behind the scenes.
- Conversation Management:
- There may be limits on the length of our conversation or the size of individual messages, which are related to token limits.
- If a conversation gets too long, earlier parts might be trimmed to stay within token limits.
- Response Time:
- The number of tokens being processed can affect how quickly the LLM responds, though this is usually not noticeable for typical interactions.
- Quality and Context:
- More tokens generally allow for more context and potentially higher quality responses, but there’s a balance with efficiency and cost.
From the perspective of the user, the token usage and costs are essentially invisible. You can focus on our conversation without worrying about token counts or direct costs. The entity providing this service manages these aspects behind the scenes.