Table of Contents
CDN caching is standard for static content; for dynamic AI responses, the picture is more nuanced. Streaming responses generally bypass CDN; cacheable responses (FAQ, static prompts) can benefit. Pick patterns thoughtfully.
CDN helps for: static AI content (pre-generated FAQs, model-card pages, public docs), public-facing low-cardinality completions, embedded content. CDN bypasses for: streaming responses, per-user personalised generations, anything authenticated. Cloudflare Workers AI offers edge inference for specific workloads.
When CDN helps
- Static AI artefacts: pre-generated FAQ answers, model documentation, public marketing copy
- Low-cardinality requests: limited variety of inputs → cacheable responses
- Embedded content: public-facing AI-generated copy on landing pages
- Edge inference: Cloudflare Workers AI for specific model variants
CDN doesn't help for:
- Streaming responses (CDN proxies often buffer; defeats streaming)
- Per-user personalised content
- Authenticated API requests
- High-cardinality input space (no cache hits)
Config
For cacheable AI content:
- Set explicit
Cache-Controlheaders on cacheable responses - TTL: short (~5-60 minutes) for content that may update; longer for truly static
- Vary header: include user-affecting headers in cache key
- Stale-while-revalidate: serve stale + refresh in background
For streaming bypass: explicit Cache-Control: no-store + appropriate proxy bypass at the CDN layer.
Verdict
For most production AI APIs, CDN doesn't help — bypass it for streaming responses. CDN does help for static AI artefacts and low-cardinality public content. Don't over-architect; standard web caching applies to AI in narrow cases.
Bottom line
CDN for static AI artefacts; bypass for streaming. See streaming.
