What is Inference?
The process of using an already-trained model to generate a response.
// Explanation
Training a model can take months and cost millions. Inference is the moment that model answers your question — which takes seconds. When you pay for tokens via an API, you're paying for inference, not training. Companies invest heavily in making inference faster and cheaper.
// Example
Every time you send a message to ChatGPT and it replies, that's an inference. Billions happen every day globally.