What is Model Fallback?
Automatically switching to an alternative LLM when the primary model is unavailable or over budget.
Model fallback is a resilience pattern where an application automatically switches to a secondary LLM when the primary model fails, is rate-limited, or exceeds a budget threshold. Without fallback, a single provider outage can take down an entire AI-powered application.
Fallback strategies range from simple (try provider A, then provider B) to sophisticated (route to the cheapest available model that meets quality requirements). GateCtr supports configurable fallback chains — define your preferred model order and GateCtr handles the switching transparently.
Fallback also applies to budget scenarios: when a project hits its token cap, GateCtr can either block the request (hard stop) or route to a cheaper model (soft fallback), depending on your configuration.
GateCtr addresses model fallback automatically on every API call — no configuration required. The results are visible in real-time in the GateCtr dashboard, with per-request breakdowns of tokens, cost, and savings.