SynaBot

What is a token in AI?

A token is a chunk of text — usually a word or part of a word. Models charge and measure usage in tokens, not characters.

Mark Barclay
Answer curated and reviewed byMark Barclay

Key takeaways

  • A token is a chunk of text.
  • usually a word or part of a word.
  • Models charge and measure usage in tokens, not characters.

Under the hood, a language model does not see words — it sees tokens. In English, one token is roughly 4 characters or ¾ of a word.

Why it matters: AI providers price by tokens (both what you send and what the model returns), and models have a token limit per conversation. Longer prompts and answers cost more and can hit the ceiling.