How to price AI features without losing margin
A feature can look profitable at average usage and fail under a small number of heavy customers. Pricing should define what the customer buys, what usage is included, and what happens when delivery cost moves beyond the plan.
Separate price from usage
Write down the monthly price, included usage allowance, overage terms, and which workflows are covered. A vague “unlimited AI” promise transfers usage risk to the vendor. A measurable allowance lets Finance and Product test the same offer.
Choose a unit buyers understand—documents processed, support resolutions, minutes transcribed, or another outcome—then map that unit to model calls and direct cost. Token counts are useful internal evidence, but often a poor contract unit on their own.
Test the ordinary and the heavy-use case
Estimate direct cost per customer at observed median usage and at an upper-tail level from real cohorts. Include retries, tool calls, long contexts, and other direct delivery costs. If the sample is small, label the upper-tail scenario as an assumption rather than observed fact.
For example, a $1,000 monthly feature with $200 in other direct cost and $300 in ordinary model cost yields $500 of known contribution. If heavy use raises model cost to $800, known contribution falls to $0. The same list price serves two very different economics.
Set a margin floor before negotiating
With a 40% contribution margin floor on a $1,000 price, total direct cost should stay at or below $600. If other direct cost is $200, the model-cost budget is $400. That number gives the team a concrete boundary for included volume or a price change.
Use actual contract terms when quoting. Promotional credits and supplier discounts may end; model mix can shift. Keep both the current cost basis and the stress scenario visible so a deal is not approved solely on today’s cheapest route.
Define the action when the limit is crossed
The contract should say whether the customer pays overages, moves to a higher tier, or receives a smaller allowance at renewal. Operationally, assign an owner to review contracts that cross the floor. Do not silently change customer billing or model routing based on an estimate.
The first useful pricing review is often one existing contract and one proposed deal. That pair reveals whether the new offer improves on the economics you already observe.
Apply this to your own contracts
Test one contract’s known margin with the free calculator, or explore how Solvren keeps source gaps and decisions together.