# Model router policy

**Source:** https://promtable.com/glossary/model-router-policy

> A model router policy is the rule set that decides which model handles each request — usually as a chain of conditions (intent, latency budget, cost ceiling, quality required) over the available model set.

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A model router policy is the rule set that decides which model handles each request — usually as a chain of conditions (intent, latency budget, cost ceiling, quality required) over the available model set.

Single-model production stacks are increasingly the exception. A model router policy formalises which model handles which request: "intent=code → Claude 4.6", "intent=chat AND short → GPT-4o-mini", "intent=research AND long-context → Gemini 2 Pro". Policies live as YAML / JSON config, executable Python, or compiled rules in a routing framework (OpenRouter, Portkey, Martian). Maturity in 2026 has the policy be evaluated on real traffic — sample queries, score outcomes per model, adjust the policy. Without an explicit policy, routing decisions live in tribal knowledge and drift over time.

## When to use

- Multi-skill production assistants.
- Cost-sensitive deployments using router LLMs.

## Common mistakes

- Hard-coded routing rules without evals — quality drift goes unnoticed.
- Policy too granular — coordination overhead exceeds the cost saving.

## Related terms

- [model-router](https://promtable.com/glossary/model-router)
- [openrouter](https://promtable.com/glossary/openrouter)
- [evals](https://promtable.com/glossary/evals)
- [ai-router-fallback](https://promtable.com/glossary/ai-router-fallback)

*Last updated: 2026-06-01*
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Original page: https://promtable.com/glossary/model-router-policy
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