Pre-Call Guards: The Missing Layer in AI Agent Cost Control

Current AI cost management relies on post-execution dashboards, but by then the damage is done. The article advocates for runtime guards that validate budgets, model pricing, and progress before each provider API call—essential safeguards for production AI systems where agent loops involve retries and fallbacks. These pre-call checks offer the same protective mechanisms that traditional software relies on: timeouts, rate limits, and circuit breakers.