Anthropic's current Claude 5.5 family is positioned across high-volume small-model work, everyday tasks, and more demanding reasoning. A routing policy can use those differences, but only if it improves outcomes enough to justify the extra complexity.
Define task classes
Group work by observable properties: input type, source length, required tools, output schema, and business consequence. Do not rely on labels such as easy or hard without examples.
Evaluate a small model first on bounded cases, a middle tier on broader everyday work, and a stronger model on cases requiring sustained judgment. These are starting hypotheses, not universal assignments.
Make escalation explicit
Escalate when validation fails, sources conflict, required evidence is missing, or the task falls into a higher-consequence category. Limit repeat attempts so a bad input does not trigger an expensive loop.
Keep safety-sensitive routing outside the model where possible. A request should not receive less oversight because a classifier mistakenly called it simple.
Include routing overhead
Measure the router's cost, latency, and errors alongside downstream models. Compare the combined system with a simpler single-model baseline. Some low-volume workflows will not benefit from multiple tiers.
Monitor changes after model updates. A previously useful division may no longer be economical if a smaller model improves or pricing changes.
The objective is not to use every model in the catalog. It is to select the least costly configuration that meets the quality and control requirements for each approved class of work.
Sources & further reading
Reviewed October 26, 2026. Product availability and regulatory guidance can change. Vendor performance claims are not independent Rovio AI benchmarks.
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