AI Glossary Term
What does “Test-Time Compute” mean?
Definition
Additional inference computation used during response generation to improve quality or reasoning.
How Test-Time Compute works
Example
A reasoning model works through a puzzle for tens of seconds, trying approaches and checking them, rather than answering at once. The extra effort often raises accuracy on hard problems.
Why it matters
It offers a route to better answers without a larger model. It makes each response slower and costlier.
Common questions
Same as inference-time compute?
Yes, the terms are generally used interchangeably.
Which tasks benefit?
Multi-step math, coding, and logic problems.
Is it unlimited?
No. Gains taper off, and more thinking raises cost and delay.