token budget

token budget (noun)

(technical) The maximum number of tokens available for a given task or conversation with an AI system, covering both the instructions given to the model and the response it produces. A token budget is a chosen allocation. It may be set well below the model's maximum technical capacity (its context window) for reasons of cost, speed, or focus. Exceeding it forces a choice: trim the input, shorten the output, or split the work into stages.
(general/practical use) An amount of token spend allocated to a person, role, project, or piece of work. It's treated the way a team already treats a headcount or spending budget, and asking about it is increasingly routine for anyone starting a piece of AI-supported work.

Example: "We cut the appendix from the prompt; it was eating into our token budget."
Example: "Before starting the project, the new hire asked her manager: what's my token budget?"