---
title: "Token"
description: "The atomic unit an LLM processes - roughly a syllable."
topic: "AI Concepts"
canonical: "https://geordy.ai/glossary/ai-concepts/token"
---
# Token

The atomic unit an LLM processes - roughly a syllable.

Models charge per token and have token-budget limits. Tokens are why compression efficiency matters: a fact-dense paragraph might cost 200 tokens, while a fluffy one expressing the same fact costs 800.
---

Source: https://geordy.ai/glossary/ai-concepts/token
This is a machine-readable markdown version of that page, generated by Geordy.