What is Model router?
Also called: LLM router, model routing
A model router decides automatically for each request which AI model answers it: simple questions go to a fast, cheap model, hard ones to a stronger model.
Example
“Translate ‘Danke’ into English” goes to a small model, reviewing a long contract goes to a reasoning model.
For pros
The goal is a good balance of quality, cost and waiting time. Routers decide by fixed rules, by features of the request or with a specially trained model; the research project RouteLLM learns such decisions from preference data. Services like OpenRouter bundle many models behind one interface and can choose automatically. Downside: which model answered is not always visible, and quality can vary from request to request.
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Written by AI Compare Ninja with AI assistance and edited by us. Every explanation is our own text.