Author: Diego Barreto

For developers, product managers, and ops teams, the term “decision engine” often gets muddled with rules engines, workflow tools, or a chat LLM prompted to “reply in JSON.” Those tools can be useful, but they solve different problems. A true decision engine accepts state—text, JSON, images, or video frames—plus questions defined in code, and returns schema-valid typed answers with calibrated confidence. That contract matters when code must act instantly, deterministically, and safely: routing tickets, scoring orders, gating promotions, or checking production-line quality. This article breaks down the architecture, integration patterns, and operational details that technical teams should evaluate. What Makes a Decision Engine Different from Rules Engines and Chat LLMs Rules engines encode...