FinOps for AI: a practical guide to managing AI cloud costs

AI has crossed the threshold from speculative R&D to the operational engine of the modern enterprise. Engineering teams deploy autonomous agents to handle complex customer workflows; product squads embed foundation model APIs directly into flagship software; and business units independently license AI-powered SaaS platforms to streamline daily work. What began as a series of isolated experiments has rapidly consolidated into one of the largest, most unpredictable line items on the corporate technology bill.