HTTP 200 Is Not Enough: Define a Successful AI API Request

An AI API can return HTTP 200 and still fail the job you actually care about.

The request may have reached a fallback model you did not intend to use. A retry may have doubled the cost. The response may be technically valid but empty, truncated, too slow, or unusable by the next step in your workflow.

For production AI systems, “success” needs a stronger definition.

1. Did the intended model run?

Record the exact requested model ID and the model or route that actually served the request. A transparent fallback is useful. A silent fallback makes quality, latency, and cost harder to explain.