AI EngineeringInterview preparation
Intermediate·Discussion·2 min read

Time to first token versus total latency?

Practice this question
  • Time to first token measures how soon generation begins producing text, while total latency includes all required work and completion.
  • Streaming improves perceived progress but may not reduce total runtime or cost.
Adapted from 13_AI.MD · “29.16 Observability”. Code examples are study fragments. Difficulty and core labels are editorial estimates; version-specific behavior should be checked against your project.