The Economics of AI Design
Sarah Khan
AI Product Designer – Unit Economics
The Real Cost of Every AI Feature You Ship, and How Design Can Cut It
For twenty years, software design didn't need to think about unit economics. One more user cost nothing. AI broke that rule. Every interaction calls a model. Every call has a price.
The design choices you're already making, how much context you send, how long a response runs, which model handles it, are now cost decisions too. You just can't see it yet.
When you can't answer the cost question, someone else answers it for you. Your feature gets quietly downgraded by people who understand the cost side and nothing about the design side, because you weren't in the room.
This course puts you back in the room. You'll learn the handful of levers that actually move cost, rebuild a real feature live and watch the number fall, and leave with a one-page brief to share with the team.
What you’ll learn
The AI bill lands in a meeting you're already in. This course teaches you to be the one who explains it, not the one it happens to
Learn the actual math behind an AI feature's running cost, worked from one real example.
Understand why AI features break the old rule that one more user costs almost nothing.
Walk into any cost conversation already knowing the number, not waiting to be handed it.
Learn the specific design decisions, context, response length, model routing, trigger frequency that move cost.
Rebuild a real AI feature live and watch the number fall as the design changes.
Know when a cost is a problem to fix, and when it's the price of something worth it.
Turn what you learn into a one-page brief written the way a PM or CFO reads
Bring it straight into your next roadmap review, already holding the thing you'd otherwise scramble to produce.
Defend your number on the spot the next time someone asks if a feature is worth it.
Learn directly from Sarah
Sarah Khan
AI Product Designer (Microsoft Copilot, Walmart, Amplitude)
Who this course is for
Designers, PMs, and founders shipping an AI feature
Especially if you've sat in a room with no answer for the cost question.Designers and PMs about to ship their first AI feature
Get ahead of the cost question before it becomes a fire drill not after.Anyone whose feature already got cut, capped, or downgraded without a say
You want the next one to go differently.
What's included
Live sessions
Learn directly from Sarah Khan in a real-time, interactive format.
Lifetime access
Go back to course content and recordings whenever you need to.
Community of peers
Stay accountable and share insights with like-minded professionals.
Certificate of completion
Share your new skills with your employer or on LinkedIn.
Maven Guarantee
Your purchase is backed by the Maven Guarantee.
Course syllabus
Week 1
Oct
27
Session 1: The story, extended
Oct
29
Session 2: The hidden levers
Oct
30
Optional: Office Hours
Week 2
Nov
3
Session 3: The judgment call
Nov
5
Session 4: Rebuild it live
Nov
6
Optional: Office Hours
Schedule
Live sessions
1-3 hrs / week
Tue, Oct 27
7:00 PM—8:30 PM (UTC)
Thu, Oct 29
7:00 PM—8:30 PM (UTC)
Fri, Oct 30
7:00 PM—7:30 PM (UTC)
Projects
1-2 hrs / week
Async content
1-2 hrs / week
Frequently asked questions
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Reimbursement
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