RS Glossary
Model Routing
Model routing is the process of selecting which model or model-backed workflow should handle a request, often based on task, risk, cost, latency, or expected quality.
- Review state
- Reviewed in POC
- Freshness
- Current
- Version
- 3
- Model Routing
- Model Router
- Router
Remember it this wayRoute each request to the right handler, with the choice made visible.
In plain language
Model routing directs each request to the model, tool, service, or workflow best suited to handle it. The routing rule may use task type, risk, cost, latency, capacity, or expected quality.
Why it matters
Routing can reduce cost and improve fit, but it creates a decision layer that must be evaluated. A wrong route can send sensitive or difficult work to an unsuitable destination.
Example
A support system sends routine classification to a small model, complex drafting to a larger model, and regulated requests to a human-controlled workflow.
Common misconception
Routing is not just load balancing. It may classify the meaning or risk of a request before choosing among destinations with different capabilities.
Related terms
Sources
- Isaac Ong and colleagues, “RouteLLM: Learning to Route LLMs with Preference Data”studies routers that select between language models to balance response quality and cost.
- Anthropic, “Building Effective Agents”describes routing as classifying input and directing it to a specialized follow-up task.
Learn more
- Compare [[orchestration|Orchestration]], [[ai-agent|AI Agent]], [[model-context-protocol|Model Context Protocol (MCP)]], and [[recommendation-boundary|Recommendation Boundary]] to place Model Routing in the surrounding system.
- Follow the cited source material above for the method, standard, or research context behind this draft.
Public history
24 recorded events · 24 public summaries
A potential shared concept was discussed and selected for initial glossary drafting.
The captured candidate received a complete initial draft and entered section-level human review.
Radar reviewed the initial definition draft for human consideration.
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Radar reviewed the initial why-it-matters draft for human consideration.
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Radar reviewed the initial learn-more draft for human consideration.
Definition review recorded as replace.
Radar reviewed Mike's accepted definition replacement for this exact wording version.
Plain-Language Explanation review recorded as approve.
Why It Matters review recorded as approve.
Example review recorded as approve.
Common Misconception review recorded as approve.
Remember It This Way review recorded as approve.
Related Terms review recorded as approve.
Sources review recorded as approve.
Learn More review recorded as approve.
Sources review recorded as replace.
Radar verified the learner-facing sources after personal origin provenance was removed.
All nine current wording approvals were reconciled to Approved term status.
Source: vault/Glossary/terms/model-routing/term.md · sha256:482e130598fbda5be89b7af36c2a1b63c19062028f7f33e91c000445c3fa5593 · Release: rs-glossary-glossary-team-poc-0.5.5-2026-09-02