Token
A token is the smallest piece of text an AI model reads at a time. Sometimes a word, often a fragment of one.
In AI systems, a Token is the fundamental unit of text processing. Large Language Models break down text into tokens to analyze and generate language. Understanding tokens helps you grasp AI costs, limitations, and processing.
Token basics:
- 1 token ≈ 4 characters or 0.75 words in English
- "Hello world" = ~2 tokens
- Context windows are measured in tokens (e.g., 128K tokens)
- API costs are typically per token processed
For marketers using AI search tools like WildSEO, token usage determines:
- How many prompts you can run
- The length of AI responses you can analyze
- Cost of tracking across multiple AI platforms
Optimizing token usage ensures you can track more queries and get full brand visibility data within your budget.
Related Terms: Large Language Model (LLM), Context Window
Related Articles: Top 10 AEO Tools in 2025
Related Terms
What Is a Context Window?
The context window is the maximum number of tokens an AI model can read and reason over in a single request.
Inference
Inference is the moment an AI model uses what it learned during training to produce an answer to a new prompt.
Large Language Model (LLM)
A large language model is an AI trained on huge amounts of text to predict the next token, which is enough to make it read, write, and reason in plain language.
Token Limit
A token limit is the maximum number of tokens a model can read in a single request, prompt plus response combined.
