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Microsoft's Decision-1 model enters the fast-growing AI decision model race

With Decision-1, Microsoft enters the growing decision model space. Built on Qwen3.5-9B and optimized for fast classification and routing, it hits 83.5 percent accuracy with 85 ms latency across 36 benchmarks, according…

Matthias Bastian
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Microsoft's Decision-1 model enters the fast-growing AI decision model race

Matthias Bastian Matthias Bastian View the LinkedIn Profile of Matthias Bastian Oct 10, 2026

Microsoft now has its own decision model. Like the ones from OpenAI, Cloudflare, and the "original" from Jev, Decision-1 is built for fast, structured decisions. According to Microsoft, it handles classifications, evaluations, and routing decisions and has "the potential"  to "guide and control agents through complex environments."

Decision-1 is based on Qwen3.5-9B. Microsoft says it's the most accurate model tested across 36 benchmarks covering nearly 150,000 questions. On speed, it's 2.5 times faster than the runner-up, H2O-Lightning-4B. Cloudflare's open-source Clef models, which are also based on Qwen, weren't included in the comparison.

Microsoft's benchmark comparison puts Decision-1 at the top with 83.5% accuracy and 85 ms latency, ahead of Jev 1.13.0. | Image: Microsoft

Decision-1 is available through Microsoft Foundry and OpenRouter. Input tokens cost $0.042 per million, and output tokens are free. Jev, the startup that kicked off the decision model trend in mid-September, has likely had a rough few weeks. The idea caught on fast, but the tech was quickly adapted and surpassed using open small language models.Ad

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Source: Microsoft
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