Stop always-on bots from burning tokens: run them less often, or on demand
Every scheduled run costs tokens, even when nothing has changed. Match the schedule to how often the thing really changes, and switch fun-but-idle bots to run only when you ask.
What the bot does
- Lists every scheduled bot and how often it runs.
- Asks how often the thing it watches really changes (daily, weekly, rarely).
- Lowers the schedule to match, or switches the bot to on-demand.
- Makes each run cheap when nothing changed: a quick check first, a full report only if something did.
What you end up with
The same alerts and reports with far fewer paid runs.
Copy-paste prompt
Fill in the [brackets]. Then paste it into any tool below.
Here are my scheduled bots: [name, what it does, how often it runs]. For each one, suggest the least frequent schedule that still catches what matters, or say if it should run only when I ask. For watchers, rewrite the instructions so each run first checks whether anything changed and stops with a one-line 'no change' if nothing did.
Tools that can do it today
- agentGrok Bot (personal agents)Routines can be scheduled or run on demandCheck plan requirements in xAI's docs
- agentChatGPT dots (always-on agents)Rolling out to eligible paid plans; check OpenAI's page
- agentClaude CoworkScheduled tasksCheck plan requirements on Anthropic's help page
- automationZapierFree plan; paid plans add more
Plans and limits change; check each tool's page.
Watch out
- One user who set several agents to run multiple times a day says he switched them all to on-demand once he saw what autopilot cost.
- A slower schedule means slower alerts. Keep fast checks only for things that are really time-sensitive.
Questions people ask
Which AI tools can do this?
Grok Bot (personal agents), ChatGPT dots (always-on agents), Claude Cowork or Zapier can do this today. Paste the copy-paste prompt on this page into any of them and fill in the [brackets].
How hard is it to set up?
It's rated Easy. Start with the steps under “What the bot does”.
What should I watch out for?
One user who set several agents to run multiple times a day says he switched them all to on-demand once he saw what autopilot cost.
Sources
- xX post by @sunfellow (2026-10-20): moved his Grok Bot agents from several runs a day to on-demand after seeing the cost
- docsAnthropic pricing docs: "Monitor usage patterns: Track token consumption to identify optimization opportunities"
Last checked Oct 21, 2026. Self-reported results from posts are the poster's own claims.