Budgets
AI Agent budgets let you control the operational costs of your AI Agents by setting daily and monthly spending caps. Once a cap is reached, agents stop picking up new conversations until the cap resets or you increase it.
Overview
AI Agent costs are based on token consumption. Every message in a conversation -- from customer questions to agent responses to internal data lookups -- consumes tokens. UltraCart tracks this usage and charges per thousand tokens at three rates:
Token type | Cost per 1,000 tokens | Description |
|---|---|---|
Input | $0.0004 | Customer messages and data the agent processes |
Cached input | $0.0001 | Previously processed context reused within a conversation |
Output | $0.001 | Agent responses sent to the customer |
Budget caps apply collectively across all AI Agents on your account, not per agent.
What affects token consumption
Several factors influence how many tokens a conversation uses:
Customer message length -- longer, more detailed questions consume more input tokens
Agent response length -- comprehensive responses use more output tokens
Data lookups -- when the agent retrieves order status, subscription details, or product data, the retrieved information counts as input tokens
Agent instructions and personality -- more detailed instructions can lead to longer responses
Example cost calculation
Here's a sample order status conversation to illustrate typical costs:
Speaker | Message | Estimated tokens | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
Customer | "I'd like to check on the status of my order." | ~12 | Input |
Agent | "Can you give me the order number?" | ~11 | Output |
Customer | "Sure, it's 1001234" | ~10 | Input |
Agent | (retrieves order data) | ~50 | Input |
Agent | "Your order is currently processing and is scheduled to ship on May 27th. It should arrive within 2-3 business days of shipping. Is there anything else I can help with?" | ~41 | Output |
Customer | "Nope, that's good. Thanks!" | ~5 | Input |
Totals:
Input tokens: 12 + 10 + 50 + 5 = 77 tokens
Output tokens: 11 + 41 = 52 tokens
Cost:
Input: 77 / 1,000 x $0.0004 = $0.0000308
Output: 52 / 1,000 x $0.001 = $0.000052
Total conversation cost: ~$0.000083
A typical short conversation costs a fraction of a cent.
Setting your budget
To configure budget caps:
Navigate to CRM > Workforce > Settings.
Select AI Budgets.
Set your Monthly usage cap and Daily usage cap.
Select Update Budget to save.
Start with a moderate budget and monitor actual usage during your first few weeks. Real-world data is the best guide for refining your estimates.
Estimating a realistic budget
Consider these factors when planning your budget:
Conversation volume -- how many customer interactions you expect daily and monthly. Review your current support ticket or webchat volume for a baseline.
Average conversation length -- simple order status checks use fewer tokens than complex subscription modifications.
Peak periods -- seasonal promotions or sales events may significantly increase conversation volume.
Budget guidelines by volume
Volume | Monthly interactions | Suggested starting budget |
|---|---|---|
Low | Under 100 | $1 - $5 |
Medium | 100 - 500 | $5 - $15 |
High | Over 500 | $15 - $50+ |
These are conservative starting points. Adjust based on your actual usage patterns.
Monitoring and adjusting
After your agents are live, monitor usage regularly and adjust as needed:
Review token consumption in the AI Agent reporting tools
Optimize agent instructions to be concise and efficient, reducing unnecessary output tokens
Design conversation flows that resolve queries in as few turns as possible
Increase caps ahead of anticipated traffic spikes (promotions, product launches)