AI Credits Transition to Paid Usage on September 1, 2026: Starting September 1, 2026, eligible AI agents will move from the current uncapped trial to credit-based usage. Each eligible agent action will use a set number of AI Credits from your account’s shared balance. Your platform edition may include AI Credits, and you can purchase additional credits as your usage grows. After your included balance is depleted, additional AI agent usage will incur a cost through pre-purchased credits, on-demand billing or pause until more credits are added, depending on your account settings. Credit rates vary by agent and action. AI Credits apply to eligible agents such as Renewal Agent, Intake Agent, and Archive Agent. They do not apply to every AI-powered feature in Ironclad. Please reach out to your Ironclad representative for more information.
Summary
This article walks you through how Ironclad uses credits from your shared account balance and how each credit type affects billing.
Permissions
| Features | AI Credits |
How does the AI credit pool work?
Your account has one shared pool of AI Credits. Users, workflows, and supported AI agents use credits from this same pool.
The pool is shared across your production instances. Credits are not set aside for a specific user, workflow, agent, or production instance.
To learn which actions use AI Credits, read What Uses AI Credits?.
In what order are credits used?
Ironclad uses credits in this order:
- Platform-included credits
- Purchased or pre-planned credit packs
- On-demand credits, if enabled
1. Platform-included credits
Platform-included credits come with an eligible plan. They are used first.
2. Purchased credit packs
Purchased credit packs are used after the platform-included credits are used. These packs are also called pre-planned credit packs.
3. On-demand credits
If platform-included and purchased credits are used up, Ironclad uses on-demand credits if they are enabled for your account. On-demand credits are pay-as-you-go credits.
The default setting allows on-demand use. On-demand credits are billed at the current list price of $1 per credit. An Account Administrator can turn on the AI Credit Cap to prevent on-demand use. Refer to Cap AI Credit Usage to learn more.
How does the order affect your balance and billing?
Credits are removed from the first available pool before Ironclad uses the next pool. This means:
- Platform-included credits decrease first.
- Purchased credits decrease after the platform-included balance reaches zero.
- On-demand use starts only after both balances reach zero, if it is enabled.
Your account balance shows the credits that remain across these pools. On-demand use can add charges because it is billed as pay-as-you-go usage.
Example
Your account has:
- 1,000 platform-included credits
- 500 purchased credits
- On-demand use enabled
If an agent uses 1,200 credits:
- The first 1,000 credits come from the platform-included balance.
- The next 200 credits come from the purchased balance.
- You have 300 purchased credits left.
- No on-demand credits are used.
If the agent then uses 400 more credits:
- The remaining 300 purchased credits are used.
- The last 100 credits use on-demand credits.
- The 100 on-demand credits are billed at the current list price.
Monitor credit balance and usage
Account Administrators can view the shared balance and see usage by agent in Ironclad. This view helps you track which agents use the most credits and decide when to add more credits.
Refer to View AI Credits and Usage to learn how to check your balance and usage.
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