---
title: Token (AI) – AI Abstraction
canonical_url: https://ai-abstraction.com/glossary/token-ai/
description: A small chunk of text, roughly a word or part of a word, that an AI model processes and that usage costs are typically billed by.
last_modified: 2026-07-29
---

Glossary

# Token (AI)

A small chunk of text, roughly a word or part of a word, that an AI model processes and that usage costs are typically billed by.

A token is the basic unit an AI model reads and generates text in, roughly a word or a word fragment. Model usage is usually billed per token, which is why cost optimization is part of what AI Abstraction monitors under managed hosting; a poorly designed agent can burn through far more tokens than necessary.

[See every term in the glossary](/glossary/)

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## About AI Abstraction

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