Tool Gate · How it works
How the AI Unit Economics & Token-Shock Exposure Kit gate works
How the AI Unit Economics & Token-Shock Exposure Kit scores a workflow's cost per outcome: a no-usage-cap gate forces TOKEN SHOCK when there's no cap or capped true-up on spend — which is how a workflow reading PREDICTABLE on cost alone still reads TOKEN SHOCK.
How the gate works
This tool grades an AI workflow's monthly spend and per-outcome cost against usage-cap discipline. Each control is marked from your own evidence and weighted into a 0–100 score — and then the score is run past a gate that can only make the verdict worse.
The 4 weighted controls
| Signal | Weight |
|---|---|
| Cost per outcome efficiency | 45 |
| Retry & growth drag | 25 |
| Usage cap in place | 15 |
| True-up terms capped | 15 |
| Total | 100 |
The verdict bands
A workflow with no usage cap AND no capped true-up terms is forced to TOKEN SHOCK regardless of how cheap it looks today - an unpriced growth month becomes an unbounded bill. An active usage cap or a capped true-up clears the gate.
In the worked sample it scores 65 out of 100 and still reads TOKEN SHOCK — This workflow costs $499.20 a month across 9,500 outcomes - $0.05 per outcome, comfortably inside the predictable range, which is a score of 65. But there's no usage cap and no capped true-up: the moment a growth month hits, that $0.05 stops being the number that matters. The gate overrides the score and forces TOKEN SHOCK. The one thing to fix first: Add a usage cap or a capped true-up to this workflow's contract terms - either one clears the gate; right now neither exists..
Common questions
Can something score well on the How the AI Unit Economics & Token-Shock Exposure gate works and still fail?
Yes. The weighted score is run past a worsen-only gate — the Uncapped-terms gate — that can only make the verdict worse. In the worked sample it scores 65 out of 100 and still reads TOKEN SHOCK, because this workflow costs $499.20 a month across 9,500 outcomes - $0.05 per outcome, comfortably inside the predictable range, which is a score of 65. But there's no usage cap and no capped true-up: the moment a growth month hits, that $0.05 stops being the number that matters. The gate overrides the score and forces TOKEN SHOCK.
What is a worsen-only gate?
A dispositive rule that can only lower a verdict, never raise it. One fatal flaw overrides an otherwise-good score, because a single disqualifying gap shouldn't hide behind a high average. The tool also names the one thing to fix first — here, "Add a usage cap or a capped true-up to this workflow's contract terms - either one clears the gate; right now neither exists.".
Every figure comes from your own inputs - no per-token price or multiplier is assumed. Not a forecast of what your AI vendor will actually charge; verify against your contract's real usage-cap and true-up terms.
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<iframe src="https://redhub.ai/visuals/tool/ai-unit-economics-token-shock-exposure-kit.html" title="How the AI Unit Economics & Token-Shock Exposure Kit gate works — RedHub AI" width="760" height="1689" loading="lazy" style="border:0;width:100%;max-width:760px"></iframe>
<p style="font:14px/1.5 system-ui,sans-serif"><a href="https://redhub.ai/visuals/tool/ai-unit-economics-token-shock-exposure-kit">How the AI Unit Economics & Token-Shock Exposure Kit gate works</a> — by <a href="https://redhub.ai">RedHub AI</a>, the AI that tells you when to doubt it.</p>Image + link — a static picture for any blog
<a href="https://redhub.ai/visuals/tool/ai-unit-economics-token-shock-exposure-kit"><img src="https://redhub.ai/visuals/tool/ai-unit-economics-token-shock-exposure-kit-share.png" alt="Diagram of the AI Unit Economics & Token-Shock Exposure Kit: a cost-per-outcome score reading predictable and a no-usage-cap gate forcing TOKEN SHOCK." width="760" loading="lazy" style="max-width:100%;height:auto;border-radius:16px"></a>
<p style="font:14px/1.5 system-ui,sans-serif"><a href="https://redhub.ai">RedHub AI</a> — the AI that tells you when to doubt it.</p>
This is how AI Unit Economics & Token-Shock Exposure Kit works. More diagrams in the Visual Field Guide.