AI doesn’t just run—it consumes.
In this episode of Update & Restart, Rick Claus and Sonia Cuff explain how AI workloads are measured, priced, and optimized using tokens.
You’ll learn how usage patterns, model behavior, and user interactions all impact cost.
What you’ll learn:
• What tokens are and how they affect cost
• Why AI usage is harder to predict than traditional workloads
• How to track and analyze AI costs in Azure
• How to avoid unexpected cost spikes
⏱️ Chapters
00:00 Intro
00:45 Meet Rick Claus and Sonia Cuff
00:58 What tokens are and why they matter
02:01 How token usage impacts cost
03:56 Monitoring AI usage in Azure
06:01 Investigating cost spikes and anomalies
07:39 Designing cost-efficient AI systems
08:17 Where to learn more
08:59 Key takeaways
🎙️ Speakers
Rick Claus — Principal Cloud Advocate, Microsoft
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rickclaus/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/regularitguy.com
Sonia Cuff — Principal Cloud Advocate, Microsoft
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/soniacuff/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/soniacuff.com
📢 Join the conversation
How are you tracking and managing AI costs today? Share what you’re seeing at [email protected]
Update & Restart is a practical series for IT professionals navigating how AI fits into real-world infrastructure, operations, and troubleshooting. Hosted by Rick Claus and Sonia Cuff, the series cuts through hype to show how tools like Azure Copilot and Microsoft 365 Copilot work in real environments—where security, reliability, and production constraints still matter.
Each episode combines hands-on demos, real scenarios, and practical advice to help IT pros understand what AI can actually do today, when to trust it, and how to adopt it responsibly without breaking systems or workflows.
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