Kilo's Auto Efficient Routes Every Coding Request to the Cheapest Capable Model
Kilo adds Auto Efficient to its Auto Model lineup, routing each coding request to the cheapest benchmark-proven model for that specific task
- Auto Efficient is a new tier added to Kilo's Auto Model system, routing each coding request to the cheapest benchmark-proven model for that specific task.
- A lightweight classifier reads your session in real time and matches each request to the cheapest model that has already proven accurate enough on that class of work.
- Routing decisions are based on KiloBench, Kilo's own continuously-running benchmark built from real developer tasks, with all rankings publicly visible.
- Session-aware design prevents model thrashing mid-thread; uncertain routing decisions fall back to the Balanced tier as a quality floor.
- Two settings per project: optimize for lowest cost that clears the accuracy bar, or optimize for the strongest proven model in the pool.
- Live now; requires VS Code/JetBrains extension v5.2.3+ or CLI v1.0.15+ for full per-request routing.
If you use an AI coding assistant long enough, you start noticing something uncomfortable: you're paying frontier model prices for tasks that don't need frontier reasoning. Renaming a variable, adding a docstring, or reformatting a block of JSON costs the same as planning a database migration. Kilo's Auto Model already offered tiered routing, but the tiers were still static choices. The new Auto Efficient tier changes that by routing each individual request to the cheapest model that can actually handle it.
A new tier, not a new product
Auto Efficient is a new tier in Kilo's Auto Model lineup. Instead of locking you into a single model or asking you to switch manually as the work shifts, it classifies each session in real time and routes it dynamically to the benchmark-proven best model for that task. The existing tiers -- Frontier, Balanced, and Free -- remain exactly where they were. Auto Efficient sits alongside them as a fourth option in the model picker.
The core problem it addresses is straightforward. Auto Model routes each request to the model that best fits the work, so you spend less time choosing models and fewer credits on tasks that do not need frontier reasoning. Frontier routes to the latest and most capable paid models, while Balanced routes to a cost-effective paid model selected for the API interface in use. Auto Efficient goes further by making that cost-quality tradeoff on a per-request basis rather than a per-session one.
How the routing actually works
Auto Efficient runs on a short loop. A lightweight classifier reads your session in context and works out what kind of task you're on and how hard it is. Kilo matches that to the cheapest model proven accurate enough for the work, drawn from a pool of candidates selected based on benchmark performance. The decision happens between keystrokes -- no mode change, no manual switch.