Everyone's connecting MCP servers to their AI agents right now. What almost nobody's doing is checking the bill. Every tool you register and every server you connect quietly pads your token count... often before the model does anything useful. This talk digs into the real tokenomics of MCP: why tool schemas are a fixed tax on every request, how that overhead compounds into serious cost and latency at scale, and what you can actually do about it. You'll see how to measure the token cost your MCP setup adds, using live examples, plus practical ways to trim it without losing the tools you rely on. If you're running AI agents in production, or about to be, this is the cost conversation worth having before your invoice has it for you.
Aaron Hunter is a Principal Developer Advocate at AWS based in Frisco, TX. With over 15 years of experience spanning system administration, networking, and training, he brings more than a decade of cloud expertise to help Engineers, Developers, Builders, and tech enthusiasts master AWS technologies. His philosophy is simple: always be learning something new, and have fun while doing it! Aaron shares his knowledge through workshops, online courses, mentoring, and live streaming – making complex cloud concepts accessible and enjoyable. When he's not building in the cloud, you'll find him exploring craft beer scenes in new cities or teaming up with friends in Marvel Rivals on his PlayStation, because even superheroes need good teammates!
