🪄 How AI Credits work

We use AI Credits for the AI features in smenso. This article explains what Credits are, how many are included in your plan, what usage depends on and what you can do if your balance is not sufficient.

What are AI Credits?

AI Credits are the billing unit for using AI features. Every AI action, such as rephrasing text or creating a status report, requires computing resources in the background. Credits represent this effort and make it transparent for you.

Credits apply exclusively to the AI features in your Workspace. They are non-transferable.

How many Credits are included in your plan?

Each plan includes a monthly balance. It depends on the number of paid seats in your Workspace:

Any differing agreements in your contract take precedence.

One shared balance for the entire team

Credits are not assigned to individual people. They go into a shared balance that everyone in the Workspace can use. Those who use AI intensively consume more, while those who use it less often consume less. The total is what matters.

Example: A team with 20 seats on the Business+ plan has 20 × 250 = 5,000 Credits available every month.

When the number of seats changes

If you add seats during a month, your balance will increase proportionally for the remaining days of that month. From the following month onwards, the full balance per seat will apply.

If you reduce the number of seats, this will only take effect at the end of your billing period: at the end of the month for monthly billing, or at the end of the contract year for annual billing. Until then, your balance remains unchanged, even if you deactivate users in the meantime. The number of paid seats is what matters, not the number of active users.

When is the balance renewed?

Your balance is replenished every month on the day your subscription began. For example, if it began on the 17th, your Credits will be renewed on the 17th of every month. If that day does not exist in a particular month, such as the 31st, the balance will be renewed on the last day of the month.

This also applies if you pay annually. In that case, you receive an invoice once a year, but your Credit balance is still renewed every month.

Unused Credits expire when the balance is renewed. They are not carried over to the following month and are neither paid out nor credited.

How many Credits does an AI action consume?

That depends on the feature and the specific case. The more complex an action is, the more Credits it consumes.

Differences between features

As a general guide:

This classification is a general guide and is not a fixed commitment for individual processes.

Differences within the same feature

The same feature does not always consume the same number of Credits. Usage depends, among other things, on:

• the scope of your input
• the amount of project and task data included
• the length of the result
• the number of processing steps required

A status report for a small project therefore consumes less than one for a large project covering an entire quarter.

Aborted or discarded actions also count

Credits are consumed for processing, not for the result. They are therefore also used if an action ends with an error, if you cancel it or if you discard the result. If the error is on our side, we will credit the Credits consumed back to you upon request.

Usage may change

We are continuously developing the AI features and also use new models for this purpose. As a result, the Credit usage of individual actions may change. We will announce significant changes in good time. There is no entitlement to an action permanently consuming the same number of Credits. If a change noticeably reduces the usable volume, you can cancel purchased Credit packages extraordinarily.

Where can you see your usage?

As a Workspace owner, you can find your Workspace's Credit usage, along with further analyses and options, in the Admin Center under AI usage.

All members can see their own usage and the usage of the entire Workspace in the app under Workspace settings.

The avatar menu also displays a small indicator showing what percentage of the shared balance has already been used. Hover over it to see further details: how many Credits have been consumed, how many are available in total and when the balance will be reset.

Once 85% of the balance has been used, an additional notice is permanently displayed in the sidebar. This helps you notice early when the balance is running low. The notice disappears again as soon as the balance is renewed or you add a Credit package.

What happens when the balance is used up?

The AI features will then pause until the next renewal. All other smenso features will continue to work normally. No automatic additional costs will arise; we will not charge you for anything you have not consciously purchased.

You have two options:

• Wait until the next renewal. The full balance will be available again on the next renewal date.
• Add a Credit package. This permanently increases your balance for every month.

Credit packages

Credit packages are added to your included balance and apply to the entire Workspace.

You can find the current prices on our pricing page. The new price list with the Business, Business+ and Enterprise plans will be published there shortly.

How to add a package

As a Workspace owner, request a Credit package in the Admin Center. Our sales team will then contact you with an offer.

How billing works

A package runs alongside your subscription. If you purchase it during an ongoing billing period, it will be charged proportionally until the end of that period. After that, it will be billed together with your subscription, either monthly or annually.

Credits from a package are always added monthly, just like your included balance. Even with annual billing, you therefore receive the package quantity every month, rather than the annual quantity once a year.

Changing or cancelling a package

Changing to a larger package can take effect immediately. Changing to a smaller package or cancelling a package will take effect at the end of your billing period, either at the end of the month or the contract year.

If you need more than package L, contact us. We will put together a suitable volume for you.

Tips for economical usage

• Be precise. The clearer your instruction, the more likely it is that the result will be right the first time.
• Include only the data you need. For example, with an AI status report, you define the period, level of detail and data types yourself. Including less data generally means lower usage.
• Make targeted improvements. If a result is almost right, edit it directly or provide a targeted instruction instead of restarting the entire action.
• Keep an eye on usage. A quick look at AI usage will show you early on whether your balance is sufficient.

When AI is not activated

The AI features are initially deactivated in every Workspace and are activated by Workspace owners in the Admin Center. As long as they are not activated, no Credits are consumed. This does not result in a reduction of the plan price, as AI is an integral part of every plan.