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 grades each workflow on dollars per outcome, banded at $0.50 and $2.00: a gate reads TOKEN SHOCK when a workflow has no usage cap and an uncapped true-up, and the portfolio verdict is its worst workflow. That is how two workflows costing $0.14 and $0.01 per outcome read TOKEN SHOCK and the portfolio reads TOKEN SHOCK EXPOSURE.
How the gate works
This tool grades each AI workflow's cost per outcome, and whether its contract terms cap a growth month. It reads 6 workflows and rolls them into one verdict — the worst, never the average. Before the roll-up, the uncapped-terms gate reads each workflow: with no usage cap and an uncapped true-up, the workflow reads TOKEN SHOCK however low its cost per outcome. The gate can only make a workflow's verdict worse.
The 6 workflows
| Workflow | Verdict |
|---|---|
| Support triage | PREDICTABLE$0.03 per outcome · cap and capped true-up |
| Sales email draftsgated | TOKEN SHOCK$0.14 per outcome · no cap, uncapped true-up |
| Doc summarization | PREDICTABLE$0.16 per outcome · cap, uncapped true-up |
| Lead enrichmentgated | TOKEN SHOCK$0.01 per outcome · no cap, uncapped true-up |
| Contract review | DRIFTING$1.215 per outcome · cap and capped true-up |
| Meeting notes | PREDICTABLE$0.06 per outcome · cap and capped true-up |
The verdict bands
A workflow with no usage cap AND an uncapped true-up reads TOKEN SHOCK however low its cost per outcome: an unpriced growth month becomes an unbounded bill. Both conditions must hold. Either a usage cap or a capped true-up clears the gate.
In the worked sample it reads TOKEN SHOCK EXPOSURE — Six workflows priced from their own inputs. Three read PREDICTABLE and Contract review reads DRIFTING at $1.215 per outcome. Sales email drafts ($0.14 per outcome) and Lead enrichment ($0.01) sit inside the PREDICTABLE cost range, but neither has a usage cap or a capped true-up, so the gate reads both TOKEN SHOCK. The portfolio takes its worst workflow and reads TOKEN SHOCK EXPOSURE. Marked fix first on this sample: The workbook names no workflow to fix first. Sales email drafts and Lead enrichment are the two gated workflows, and a usage cap or a capped true-up on either one clears its gate.
Common questions
Can a workflow that costs pennies per outcome still read TOKEN SHOCK on the AI Unit Economics & Token-Shock Exposure Kit?
Yes. Each workflow is banded on its cost per outcome (PREDICTABLE under $0.50, DRIFTING from $0.50 to under $2.00, TOKEN SHOCK at $2.00 or more), and a worsen-only gate then reads TOKEN SHOCK on any workflow with no usage cap and an uncapped true-up. In the worked sample Sales email drafts costs $0.14 per outcome and Lead enrichment $0.01, and both read TOKEN SHOCK because neither has a usage cap or a capped true-up.
How does one workflow set the portfolio verdict?
The portfolio verdict is the worst workflow, never the average: any TOKEN SHOCK workflow reads TOKEN SHOCK EXPOSURE, otherwise any DRIFTING workflow reads SOME DRIFTING, otherwise PREDICTABLE. In the worked sample three of six workflows read PREDICTABLE and the portfolio still reads TOKEN SHOCK EXPOSURE, because two read TOKEN SHOCK. The workbook ranks no workflow ahead of another; on a gated workflow, either a usage cap or a capped true-up clears the gate.
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.
Embed this diagram
Free to share and embed with attribution (CC BY 4.0) — keep the link to redhub.ai.
Interactive — renders the live diagram
<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="2033" 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: six workflows with cost per outcome and verdicts, an uncapped-terms gate reading two of them TOKEN SHOCK, and a portfolio verdict of TOKEN SHOCK EXPOSURE." 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.