{
  "schema_version": "1.0",
  "surface_type": "tool_answer",
  "tool_id": "rag-chunk-cost-impact",
  "citation_question": "How much does retrieval cost in an agent workflow when chunk depth changes?",
  "question": "How do chunk count and chunk size changes affect agent retrieval cost, per-user cost, and break-even price?",
  "canonical_url": "https://www.unitcostai.com/tools/rag-retrieval-cost",
  "formula": "retrieval_tokens_per_request = retrieved_chunks * tokens_per_chunk; cost_delta_usd = cost_candidate_usd - cost_baseline_usd; break_even_delta_usd = break_even_candidate_usd - break_even_baseline_usd",
  "assumptions": [
    "Baseline and candidate runs share non-retrieval assumptions",
    "Token costs come from one shared pricing snapshot context",
    "Reported deltas are candidate minus baseline"
  ],
  "example": "If baseline retrieval tokens/request=1760 and candidate=720, then retrieval_tokens_delta=-1040 and cost delta is calculated from full model outputs.",
  "units": "Tokens per request and USD deltas per active user-month",
  "pricing_context": {
    "context_type": "pricing_snapshot",
    "snapshot_id": "2026-06-21",
    "snapshot_date": "2026-06-21",
    "reference_url": "https://www.unitcostai.com/pricing"
  },
  "pricing_snapshot": {
    "snapshot_id": "2026-06-21",
    "snapshot_date": "2026-06-21",
    "pricing_reference_url": "https://www.unitcostai.com/pricing"
  }
}