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Glossary entry

Inference

The process of running a trained AI model to produce an output from a prompt, query, or input signal.

Why it matters

Inference matters because most enterprise AI cost is incurred not when a model is trained, but when it is repeatedly used in production at scale.

In many enterprises, the economics of AI are really the economics of inference: how often models are called, how efficiently they run, and what those calls enable in real workflows.