Old Versions
The old prices are all still in the files. I removed the safety nets one by one to see which one actually keeps the AI on today's price. It wasn't the one you'd guess.
Try it
The old prices are all still in the files. I asked 24 questions where the year matters, then removed the safety nets one by one. Click a step and a question to read what each version said.
Taken awayThe AI isn't told to prefer current files any more.
Agreements signed in 2025 keep their 2025 prices until their next renewal, and the Studio retainer was €5,200 per month for those agreements [2]. The 2026 Studio price of €6,200 was a draft that was rejected on 4 November 2025, so it does not apply to you [4]. Your price would change only when your agreement renews, so you should confirm the renewal terms with Northwind.
Your March 2025 Studio agreement keeps its 2025 price of €5,200 a month until it renews [1][3]. Northwind will tell you the 2026 Studio price of €5,800 a month applies once you renew [1][3].
Archived. These prices applied to agreements signed in 2025. Existing 2025 agreements keep these prices until their next renewal.
Rush means starting within 1 working day and delivering a first version within 3. Rush is available on all plans, depending on capacity, and must be confirmed in writing by your account lead before it applies. From 1 March 2026 the rush fee is 40% on top of the normal cost. Before that date it was 25%. On retainers the fee is charged in hours: a 10-hour rush request uses 14 hours. On fixed-price projects it is charged as 40% of the cost of the rushed part, and extra revision rounds during a rush are charged with the same 40% added.
7.1 Rush means a start within 1 working day and a first version within 3 working days. It replaces the standard turnaround in clause 3.2. 7.2 Rush is effective only when the Account Lead confirms it in writing. A message that asks for speed, without that confirmation, is not a rush, and standard turnaround applies. 7.3 The rush fee is a percentage uplift. The percentage in force on the date of the written confirmation applies, including where the work is delivered later. As at the date of this template, that percentage is 25%. 7.4 On a Retainer the uplift is charged in hours. The estimated hours are increased by the percentage in force on the confirmation date. Northwind does not also invoice the same uplift as a separate cash fee on top of the Retainer. 7.5 On a Fixed-Price Project the rush fee is the percentage in clause 7.3. The written confirmation names the work it covers.
The old number nobody archived
The rush fee went up on 1 March 2026. These three files are still in use, and they still say 25%. No “out of date” label will ever catch them.
A faster request. We start within 1 working day and deliver a first version within 3 working days. It applies only after the account lead confirms it in writing. On the date of this page the rush fee is 25%.
7.3 The rush fee is a percentage uplift. The percentage in force on the date of the written confirmation applies, including where the work is delivered later. As at the date of this template, that percentage is 25%.
7.2 The rush fee is currently 25%. The rate in force on the date of that written confirmation is the rate that applies, including if the work is delivered later.
Only the dates tell them apart from the newer rush page. With the dates, the careful bot said 40% every time. Without them, it said the files disagree, and for a rush booked on 3 March it couldn't say which fee applied.
What actually mattered
The “old” label hardly mattered
Remove every “this is old” warning and the careful version still got 24 of 24 right. The files say which year they're about, and the AI reads that.
Hiding old files backfires
Hiding old files dropped it to 21 of 24. It could no longer answer “what did we pay in 2024?”, which is exactly what clients with old contracts ask.
Dates do the real work
Erase the dates and the careful version mostly still gets there, but it starts saying “the files disagree”. The quick one gave last year's rush fee for a rush booked this March.
The code
What the two approaches do, in one sentence. The code is one click away.
The usual fix hides old files from the AI. What works better is keeping them, and making sure every piece says what it is and when it was written.
Show the code anyway
SELECT c.id, c.heading, c.text FROM rag.chunks c JOIN rag.docs d ON d.slug = c.doc_slug WHERE c.strategy = $1 AND d.status = 'current' -- archived files never reach the model ORDER BY c.embedding <=> $2 LIMIT 20const label = doc.status === "archived" ? `${doc.title} [ARCHIVED, updated ${doc.updated}]` : `${doc.title} [updated ${doc.updated}]`;// lib/rag/answer.ts, system prompt- If a source is marked ARCHIVED, prefer current sources; mention archived facts only as history.Still curious?
A few more questions people ask. Open what you need.
So the labels are pointless?
Here, nearly, because these files say which year they're about. Many real files don't. Then the label is all the AI has to go on, and it costs almost nothing.
How do you catch an old number in a current file?
A label won't do it, the file is still in use. Better: keep each price in one place, and have other files point to it instead of copying it.
Is 24 questions enough?
Enough to see a pattern, not to promise a percentage. Each step was run once and stored as it came out. You can read every answer above.
Why not just delete old files?
Because some clients are still on old prices. If nobody could ever need it, delete it. If someone might, keep it and date it.