AI Common Sense: Stop Hallucinating Model Names

LLMs frequently hallucinate model names, versions, pricing, and API identifiers because their training data has a cutoff date. This skill provides a verified quick reference and teaches AI agents how to self-verify when the reference may be stale.

Why This Exists

Quick Reference (Last verified: 2026-04-12)

Current Flagship Models

Recently Deprecated (Do NOT Use)

Upcoming / Announced (NOT Yet Available)

How to Use This Reference

For AI Agents

1. Before generating code with model IDs: Check this reference for the correct API ID.
2. Before quoting pricing: Check this reference. Pricing changes frequently.
3. Staleness check: If the "Last verified" date is older than 30 days, use WebSearch to verify before trusting these numbers.
4. When uncertain: Say "based on my last verified reference from [date]" rather than stating as current fact.

Staleness Detection

IF (today - last_verified_date) > 30 days:
  → WebSearch "[provider] models pricing [current year]"
  → Cross-reference with this table
  → Note any discrepancies
  → Flag to user: "My reference is [N] days old, I verified via web search"

When NOT to Trust This Reference

• Model pricing can change without notice
• New models may launch between updates
• Deprecation dates may shift
• "Upcoming" models may be delayed or cancelled

Verification Commands

When you need to verify current model information, use these tools:

Web search queries (use WebSearch tool):

• OpenAI models: site:platform.openai.com models
• Anthropic models: site:docs.anthropic.com models
• Google Gemini: site:ai.google.dev models
• Pricing (any provider): [provider] API pricing [current year]
• Specific model ID: "[exact-model-id]" API
• Deprecation status: [provider] model deprecation [current year]

SDK Version Check

# OpenAI
npm info openai version
pip show openai | grep Version

# Anthropic
npm info @anthropic-ai/sdk version
pip show anthropic | grep Version

# Google
npm info @google/generative-ai version
pip show google-generativeai | grep Version

Cost Comparison (Budget → Premium)

Sorted by input cost per million tokens:

Architecture Quick Facts

Common Discount Mechanisms

Per-Provider Deep Dives

For detailed model specs, deprecation timelines, cross-platform IDs, and API quick-start examples, see the references/ directory in the GitHub repo:

• references/openai.md — Full OpenAI model catalog + audio/image models
• references/anthropic.md — Cross-platform IDs (Bedrock, Vertex) + cache pricing
• references/google.md — Gemini 3.x + 2.5 + specialized models
• references/meta.md — Llama 4 MoE details + access methods
• references/mistral.md — Full specialist model catalog (Devstral, Voxtral, OCR)
• references/deepseek.md — V3 MoE details + V4 roadmap
• references/xai.md — Grok versions + corporate context
• references/cohere.md — Command A + open-source models (Transcribe, Tiny Aya)

How to Update This Reference

This reference gets stale. Here's how to help:

1. Found an error? Open an Issue on GitHub with the correction and source URL.
2. New model released? Submit a PR updating the relevant references/*.md file.
3. Pricing changed? Submit a PR with the new price and a link to the official pricing page.

Every update must include:

• The source URL (official docs preferred)
• The date you verified the information
• What changed and why

Tips

• The more confident an LLM sounds about a model name, the more likely it's hallucinating from training data.
• "I'm not sure which model is current — let me check" is always better than a confident wrong answer.
• Model IDs are exact strings. gpt-5.4 works; GPT-5.4 or gpt5.4 may not.
• Always test API calls with the actual model ID before deploying.