AI agents are getting cheaper per-token, but total costs are rising. Here's why:

The Paradox

As AI gets better, we use it for more things. My Manus AI usage went from 50 tasks/month to 200+ in 3 months. Even with lower per-task costs, my bill tripled.

Where Money Leaks

Over-routing : Using premium models for simple tasks

Context bloat : Sending unnecessary info in every prompt

Redundant iterations : Not caching or reusing results

Mixed tasks : Bundling simple+complex work together

The Solution

The solution isn't using AI less — it's using it smarter . Intelligent routing (matching task complexity to model capability) is the biggest lever.

For Manus AI specifically, I built Credit Optimizer to automate this.…