Definition
Serverless functions (AWS Lambda, Cloudflare Workers, Vercel Functions) spin up on demand, handle one request or job, then shut down. You pay per invocation and duration, not idle servers.
Great for sporadic traffic; cold starts and limits matter for latency-sensitive AI.
In simple terms
Serverless is calling a taxi instead of owning a car — you pay per ride, no parking or maintenance, but wait time varies.
Where you see it
- Webhook handlers and image resize on upload.
- Next.js API routes on Vercel.
- Scheduled data cleanup jobs.
How it works
1.Deploy function
Upload code bundle with entry point.
2.Trigger
HTTP request, queue message, or cron schedule.
3.Execute
Platform provisions runtime, runs, returns response.
Why it matters
- Serverless reduces ops burden for small APIs and glue code around AI workflows.
Often confused
Serverless means no servers exist.
Servers exist — you just do not provision or patch them; the provider manages that.