Hidden Mode Switching
Anti-pattern: silently swap the underlying model between requests without disclosing the change to users or operators.
Problem
When users compare runs over time, or compare two answers to the same prompt, they encounter quality differences they cannot explain — the agent feels sharper on Monday than on Saturday, code suggestions degrade overnight, and the same prompt produces different reasoning depth from one call to the next. They cannot reproduce results, cannot file a precise bug, and cannot trust evaluation numbers because the eval and the production traffic may have hit different models. Trust erodes faster than the cost savings accumulate.
Solution
Don't. Disclose model identity per response. Use multi-model-routing transparently. Make routing decisions inspectable.
When to use
- Never use this; routing model changes silently undermines reproducibility and trust.
- Use multi-model-routing transparently with the chosen model disclosed per response.
- Make routing decisions inspectable in traces and operator dashboards.
Open the full interactive page →
Diagram, neighbourhood map, code examples, related patterns and full provenance.