#token overhead

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A precision electronics counting scale in a bright lab, a tape-and-reel of small components caught mid-lower onto its pan, not yet settled, with a long feeder bank standing in soft focus behind it

The Token Tax of Giving a Model More Tools

Before a model can choose a tool, it has already paid to see the choices: every schema in its tool list costs tokens on every turn, and the documented evidence is that a longer list does not just cost more — it can make the model choose worse.

By Brecht Corbeel · August 23, 2026 · 20 min read

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