AI Agent billing guide

What counts. What does not. When the meter starts.

This guide is the public baseline. Your order form can add workflow-specific verification, but it cannot silently broaden the billable unit after signing.

At a glance

Three boundaries do most of the work.

route Deterministic routing and lightweight immediate triage are included in the platform fee.

usage Digital usage starts with substantive AI work; voice usage starts when AI actively handles the call.

outcome An outcome is billed only when the agreed result passes verification.

minimum Message, email and voice bots each carry their own $200 monthly minimum.

Usage-based AI Agent

Usage pays for work performed, not only success.

Each bot is metered on its own unit. Message bots bill per 24-hour session, email bots bill per email the AI successfully replies to, and voice bots bill per active AI minute. Each bot carries its own monthly minimum.

Normally billable

Searching approved knowledge or business data to answer the request.
Asking substantive diagnostic questions or generating a tailored answer.
Calling an approved tool, workflow or data source.
Substantive AI handling that later escalates, is abandoned or is rejected by the customer.
Active voice AI handling from the moment AI begins the call, including AI time before a transfer.

Included / not billable as AI Agent usage

DTMF or menu IVR, business-hours checks, spam filtering and deterministic number routing.
A digital-channel customer immediately choosing or requesting a human before substantive AI work begins.
Lightweight language, intent, priority or department classification used only to route.
Tests, duplicate platform events and confirmed HeroDash platform failures; these are excluded or credited.

Outcome-based AI Agent

Outcome pays only after verification.

The order form defines the exact result and the evidence used to verify it. A workflow action is not automatically required.

Counts as one verified outcome

A substantive knowledge answer, supported data lookup or agreed workflow result.
No human takes over the same issue before completion.
The result passes the agreed automated or auditable verification rule.
At most one outcome is counted per conversation unless the contract explicitly defines separate workflows.

Does not count as an outcome

Greeting, spam, basic routing, lightweight triage or an immediate request for a human.
A handoff, a clarifying question followed by abandonment, or an unsupported answer.
A failed tool call, test or debug traffic, or any result that fails verification.
A conversation reopened inside the review window because the same issue was not actually resolved; the original outcome is reversed or credited.

Conversation boundaries

A clear end point prevents double counting.

channel	close point	rule
Live chat · social · SMS	24-hour session	The session opens with the customer’s first message and runs for a fixed 24 hours. Every conversation with that customer inside the window counts as one session.
Email	Per replied email	Only emails the AI successfully replies to under the bot’s rules are billed. An email the bot does not reply to is not billed.
Voice	At hangup	The call ends at hangup. Active AI minutes exclude hold time, deterministic IVR and time handled only by a person; a caller who hangs up during IVR is not billed.

Special cases

The rules buyers usually ask about.

Email billing basis Email is billed per successful reply, not per session. If the bot replies to the customer under its configured rules, that email is billed; if it declines to reply and routes the email to a person, it is not.

Assisted escalation A clean handoff is not a verified outcome. It can still contain billable usage if the AI performed substantive work before handing off.

Voice timing Voice is $0.15 per active AI minute from the moment AI begins handling the call. Hanging up during the IVR stage is not billed. After a handoff to a person only carrier charges apply — the voice bot fee stops. Whether outcome pricing bills voice minutes alongside is set in the commercial contract.

Reopen and credits If the same issue reopens within the agreed review window because the answer did not hold, the previous outcome is reversed or credited.

Model changes Usage and outcome pricing can be changed prospectively by an amended order. The same traffic cannot be repriced retrospectively after results are known.

next step

Need a rule for your workflow?

Bring the workflow, historical conversations and the evidence you already use to decide whether the work is complete. We will put the billing boundary in writing.

Review my workflow Back to pricing