OpenAI GPT 6 Astra Pro

Write a briefing for a non-technical executive explaining why their company's spending on AI is hard to predict, and what they can do about it. Cover at least three distinct causes. Plain prose only — no headings, bullet points, or markdown formatting. Write exactly 205 words.

AI spending is hard to predict because the bill depends on behavior, not just headcount or software licenses. A tool that looks inexpensive in a pilot can become costly when employees use it frequently, submit longer documents, or ask it to repeat work. Automated workflows can multiply those requests without anyone noticing immediately. A second source of uncertainty is rapid change. Vendors adjust prices, teams switch models, and better capabilities encourage new uses. Cheaper individual requests do not necessarily mean lower total spending if adoption grows faster than unit costs fall. Third, the visible subscription or usage charge is only part of the expense. Connecting company data, improving its quality, checking outputs, managing security, and providing human oversight can require substantial, uneven investment. Experiments also fail, making early budgets especially unreliable. Treat AI spending as a managed portfolio rather than a fixed utility bill. Establish an owner for each application, track total cost against useful business outcomes, and set budgets with alerts and enforceable limits. Start with small pilots, expand only after measuring value, and use less expensive models when they meet quality requirements. Forecast low, expected, and high usage scenarios, include implementation and oversight costs, and review assumptions monthly as actual demand becomes clearer.