The costsConvergent sources
Prompt debt
dette d'instruction
The accumulation of unmanaged, inconsistent AI instructions that produces risk, rework and non-auditable outputs: undocumented tweaks, stacked quick fixes, no version control, context stuffing.
It belongs to a family that formed at speed during 2026: retrieval debt, evaluation debt, decision debt, comprehension debt.
What it means for an SME running AI
These are the words your technical people search for. Your director says the AI is not delivering; their engineer says prompt debt. Both describe the same chain.
Sources
- VentureBeat, 2026
- Forbes Technology Council, mars 2026
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