Retry storms that invent invoice cliffs
A silent backoff loop can look like a product launch when you only read the bill.
On AI cloud endpoints, a client that retries without jitter can multiply token volume for a single user action. The invoice shows a cliff; the product never asked those users to leave—or to stay.
Before rewriting the feature, walk the path while watching live usage and error rates. Note client-only retries versus server confirmations. Check whether staging shares production keys.
Cost Signal Mapping stays narrow on purpose: one billing cycle, deep reconciliation, a checklist you can rerun after every release so the cliff does not return unnoticed.