// GLOSSARY -- AGENTIC FINANCE
What is Agent Burn Rate?
The rate at which an AI agent consumes its allocated budget or credits over time, used to forecast spend exhaustion, trigger alerts, and dynamically adjust spending policies before limits are breached.
WHY IT MATTERS
A budget of $1,000/day means nothing if the agent burns through it in the first hour. Burn rate tracks consumption velocity, enabling proactive governance: slow the agent down, alert the operator, or pause the agent before the budget is exhausted.
Burn rate is the leading indicator. Budget exhaustion is the lagging indicator. Good governance acts on the leading indicator.
HOW POLICYLAYER USES THIS
Intercept's rate limiting and budget enforcement work together to control burn rate — rate limits cap velocity while budget envelopes cap total consumption.