The Decision-Model Boom, Explained Without the Hype
A new breed of model returns a typed decision instead of a paragraph. Perplexity, TypeSafe and Cloudflare all shipped on
I bill by the hour, so anything that saves ten minutes wins.
A new breed of model returns a typed decision instead of a paragraph. Perplexity, TypeSafe and Cloudflare all shipped one this month.
The part that saved me: They are cheap because they do one narrow thing: classify, route, pick. You do not need a giant model to decide spam versus not spam.
Where it fell flat: The practical move is to put these in front of your big model and let them filter. Most of my calls never need the expensive tier at all.
I would rather use it than do the thing by hand.
Updated October 28, 2026: the filter pattern below is now standard practice.
Frequently asked questions:
Q: What is a decision model?
A: A model that returns a typed decision instead of a paragraph - Perplexity, TypeSafe and Cloudflare all shipped one this month.
Q: Why are they so cheap?
A: They do one narrow thing: classify, route, pick. You don't need a giant model to decide spam versus not spam.
Q: How should I deploy one?
A: Put it in front of your big model and let it filter. Most calls never need the expensive tier at all.