What's one mistake developers make when building cost-efficient AI apps?

Microsoft Developer explains that many teams try to improve cost and quality by over-optimizing the model layer (prompt tweaks, switching models), but the bigger leverage is usually in the overall system.

Overview

The common mistake: over-optimizing the model

• Over-focusing on prompt tweaks and swapping models doesn’t necessarily produce better outcomes.
• Model-level tuning alone often can’t compensate for missing or low-quality context.

The higher-leverage approach: build the system/pipeline

• Better reasoning and results typically come from giving the AI the right data and context.
• The emphasis is on building a pipeline that consistently supplies relevant information, rather than only iterating on prompts.

Related link

• Budget Bytes: https://msft.it/6056viD9Q