Understanding AI Credits

Support Station uses a credit-based system for AI interactions. This guide explains how credits work, how they're consumed, and how to manage your usage.

What Are AI Credits?

AI credits are the currency for AI-powered features in Support Station. When a customer interacts with your AI agent—whether through the knowledge base chat or support widget—credits are consumed.

Credits by Plan

Plan	Monthly Credits	AI Features
Free	0	Not available
Starter	2,000	Full AI agent
Standard	10,000	Full AI agent
Pro	50,000	Full AI agent
Enterprise	Custom	Full AI agent

Note: AI features require Starter plan or higher. Free plan does not include AI credits or AI functionality.

How Credits Are Consumed

Each AI interaction uses credits. A typical customer question and AI response consumes 1 credit.

What Uses Credits

Interaction	Credit Usage
AI answers a question in KB chat	1 credit
AI answers a question in widget	1 credit
Follow-up questions in conversation	1 credit each

What Doesn't Use Credits

These activities do not consume AI credits:

Customers browsing knowledge base articles
Searching your knowledge base
Submitting tickets (any channel)
Your team responding to tickets
Using any non-AI features
Ticket management and routing

Viewing Your Credit Usage

To see how many credits you've used:

Go to Settings > Billing
View the "AI Credits" section
See: Credits used / Credits included (e.g., 1,500 / 2,000)

What Happens When Credits Run Out

With Overage Billing Disabled (Default)

AI chat stops responding to new messages
Customers see a message that AI is currently unavailable
They can still submit tickets or browse articles
AI resumes when credits reset at your next billing period

With Overage Billing Enabled

AI continues working without interruption
Additional usage is charged at $0.02 per credit ($20 per 1,000)
You can set a monthly cap to control costs
No service interruption for customers

Managing Overages

Enabling Overage Billing

To avoid service interruption:

Go to Settings > Billing
Find the "AI Credit Overages" section
Toggle on "Allow Overages"
Optionally set a monthly cap

Setting a Cap

Set a maximum overage amount to control costs:

Cap	Additional Credits Allowed
$20	1,000 credits
$50	2,500 credits
$100	5,000 credits
$200	10,000 credits

If you hit your cap, AI pauses until the next billing period.

No Cap

If you don't set a cap, AI continues indefinitely and you're charged for all usage. Best if you need guaranteed uptime.

Overage Pricing

Overages are charged at $0.02 per credit ($20 per 1,000 credits).

Example Invoice:

Support Station - Standard Plan      $175.00
AI Credit Overage (2,500 credits)     $50.00
----------------------------------------
Total                                $225.00

Credit Rollover

Credits do not roll over. Unused credits expire at the end of each billing period and cannot be accumulated.

Tips for Managing Credits

Write Quality KB Articles

Better documentation means more accurate AI responses and fewer follow-up questions, reducing credit consumption.

Monitor Usage Weekly

Check your credit consumption regularly to avoid surprises and adjust your overage settings if needed.

Set Appropriate Caps

If you enable overages, set a cap that matches your budget. You can adjust it anytime.

Consider Upgrading

If you consistently use more than your plan's credits, upgrading may be more cost-effective than paying overages:

Starter (2,000) → Standard (10,000) if using 2,000+ credits/month
Standard (10,000) → Pro (50,000) if using 10,000+ credits/month

FAQs

Do unused credits roll over?

No, credits reset each billing period and don't accumulate.

What happens if I'm mid-conversation when credits run out?

If you have a cap set, the current conversation completes, but new conversations see "AI unavailable."

Can I buy additional credits one-time?

Currently, additional credits are available through overage billing only. Contact sales for custom credit packages on Enterprise plans.

Do test messages count?

Yes, all AI interactions consume credits, including testing.

What if AI is turned off—do I still get credits?

Yes, your plan includes credits whether or not you use the AI features.