Edge function-guided artificial intelligence (AI) request routing is provided by applying a machine learning model to predictors of cloud endpoint hydration to determine hydration levels of cloud endpoints, of a hybrid cloud environment, that provide AI processing, determining, for each edge component of a plurality of edge components of the hybrid cloud environment and each cloud endpoint of the cloud endpoints, alternative flow paths between the edge component and the cloud endpoint, the alternative flow paths being differing routes for routing data between the edge component and the cloud endpoint, and the alternative flow paths being of varying flow rates determined based on the hydration levels of the cloud endpoints, and dynamically deploying edge functions on edge component(s), the edge functions configuring the edge component(s) to alternate among the alternative flow paths available in routing AI processing requests from the edge component(s) to target cloud endpoints of the cloud endpoints.