AI agents use many tokens per task
When an AI agent handles a coding task, it plans, writes code, runs tests, and fixes errors, often repeating the cycle. One task can consume 10 to 50 times more tokens than a simple chat prompt. The more capable the agent becomes, the more API calls it makes, so token usage can grow without you noticing.
Have you ever been surprised by your AI tool's token usage after a complex task?
#a…
Source: MIT Technology Review
