Hybrid LLM Routing: Ollama + Claude API Without Quality Degradation

A routing layer sends simple FAQ-style chatbot requests to a local Ollama model and escalates harder cases to Claude.

The system uses confidence, complexity, and output validation to decide when to fall back to the stronger model.

This hybrid setup aims to cut LLM spend while keeping reliability for risky or high-value requests.

The article highlights a practical pattern for cost-efficient B2B chatbot inference using request classification and model escalation.