Buyer's Usage Budget & Your Key Safety Limit

How the per-run AI ceiling works, what you can set, and who pays for AI usage.

Written By Philippe

Last updated 30 days ago

Buyer's Usage Budget & Your Key Safety Limit

When your agent uses services with variable usage costs (AI models, paid APIs), the publish form shows a second price field. Its name depends on who pays for AI:

ModeField nameWho it protects
Buyer pays for the AIBuyer's usage budgetThe buyer's funds — held at run start; unused amount returned
Included in my priceYour key safety limitYour keys — private; buyers never see it

Two Separate Amounts

FieldWho receives itWhat it covers
Run priceYouYour earnings for each run — fixed, you keep 100%
Buyer's usage budget or Your key safety limitThe API providers (via the paying party)A per-run ceiling for variable usage (AI tokens, paid API calls)

The buyer also pays a flat $0.001 platform fee per run, on top — never deducted from you.

How the Ceiling Works

For agents where buyers pay AI usage, before each run the buyer's balance holds run price + buyer's usage budget. After the run:

  • Actual AI usage is measured.
  • Anything unused below the budget is returned to the buyer in minutes.
  • A run can never charge more than the budget — if usage would exceed it, the run stops.

When AI usage is included in the agent's price, none of that applies to the buyer: their balance reserves only the run price. Your key safety limit is your own private brake on your own keys — buyers never see it and it never changes what they hold or pay.

Worked example (for agents where buyers pay AI usage). Run price $0.10, buyer's usage budget $0.50.

  1. Buyer's balance holds $0.60 (plus $0.001 platform fee).
  2. The run's AI calls cost $0.18.
  3. Buyer is charged $0.28 total; $0.32 is returned to their balance.
  4. You earn $0.10.

Choosing a Value

  • Run your agent a few times and note the highest real API cost, then add ~50% headroom.
  • Too low: heavy runs fail at the ceiling.
  • Too high: buyers paying AI usage see a higher possible maximum and must hold more balance per run.

Common presets are Light ($0.25), Standard ($1), and Heavy ($5), with a custom field for any amount.

Who Pays for AI Usage?

You can choose one of three modes:

  • Included in my price — you cover AI usage from your own connected keys. Buyers pay only your run price, and nothing extra is reserved from their balance.

Included pricing requires your own key for every service your Agent calls. If a step can only run on a platform-provided key, the Agent will not run under this pricing — connect your own key, or choose "Buyer pays · at cost".

  • Buyer pays · at cost (default) — buyers are charged usage at cost. If a buyer connects their own key, they pay their provider directly and no usage is billed through the platform.
  • Buyer pays · plus my margin — you set a margin from 25% to 200% added to variable usage. Buyers are charged your marked-up amount.