A token is the small piece of text that an AI language model reads and writes. It is often a whole word, but it can also be part of a word, a number or a punctuation mark. For example, a short word like “cat” might count as one token, while a long word like “unbelievable” might be split into a few pieces before a large language model reads it.
Why it matters
Most AI services count their limits and their prices in tokens, not in words or pages. Token counts shape how much text you can paste in at once (see context window) and how large your bill gets on a paid plan. Before you sign up, ask the vendor how many tokens your plan includes, what happens when you go over, and roughly how many tokens a typical document of yours will use.
Keep in mind that “token” has a second meaning in security. An access token is a sign-in credential, closer to an API key or a password than to a piece of text. If someone asks you for a token, check which kind they mean. Never paste a sign-in token into a chat with an AI tool.
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