OpenRouter releases new-generation Auto and Auto Code routers
Understand this story
OpenRouter has released a new-generation Auto Router and added Auto Code (openrouter/auto-code) for coding scenarios; the flagship general-purpose version remains openrouter/auto. According to OpenRouter, the existing openrouter/auto identifier and auto-router plugin settings (cost_tier, allowed_models, excluded_models) remain available; to keep the old behavior, set cost_tier to low for similar cost performance. For billing, users pay the standard price of the model that actually handles the request, and the model field in the response indicates which model it was.
AI overview based on source reports · Updated 1 hr ago
Coverage timeline
Follow the coverage to explore different perspectives.
- OpenRouter AnnouncementsFeaturedIntroducing the New Auto and Auto Code Routers
OpenRouter launched a rebuilt Auto Router on a new technical foundation that it says outperforms the previous version by up to 4× on benchmarks, with a routing step 3× faster at p90 (0.65s vs 1.96s), alongside a new coding-specialized Auto Code router (openrouter/auto-code) that scores in line with Claude Opus 5.5 across five benchmarks while costing 74% less per task. The new routers weigh eleven factors per request combined with live pricing, provider health, and cache status, and work within governance policies such as guardrails, zero data retention, provider restrictions, allowed model lists, and BYOK keys. The slug openrouter/auto is unchanged, and the cost_tier, allowed_models, and excluded_models settings still work.
Activity for this story
Not enough continuous observations to show a trend yet.