Concepts & Strategy

How actions and outcomes translate to billing events

1. Capturing Actions and Outcomes

Actions

  • Definition: Actions are individual, discrete events performed by an Agent—such as sending a message, making a call, or processing a request.
  • How It Works: Every time an Agent performs an action, it emits a Signal. This Signal carries details like the type of action, a timestamp, and any relevant metadata (e.g., a message ID or call duration).

Outcomes

  • Definition: Outcomes represent the successful completion of a process or the achievement of a key result (for example, a meeting being scheduled, a lead being qualified, or a sale being closed).
  • How It Works: When an Agent’s series of actions culminates in a desired result, a distinct Outcome Signal is generated. This signal highlights that a specific business milestone has been met.

2. Aggregation and Pricing

Aggregating Signals

  • Real-Time Collection: As both action and outcome signals are generated, Paid’s platform captures them in real time.
  • Categorization: Signals are categorized based on their type—whether they represent a routine action or a key outcome. This categorization allows for tailored pricing rules.

Applying Pricing Rules

  • Activity-Based Pricing: Each action signal is assigned a cost according to your configured rate (e.g., $0.01 per email sent or call made).
  • Outcome-Based Pricing: Outcome signals are priced based on their value to the business (e.g., $5 per successfully booked meeting).
  • Aggregation: At the end of a billing cycle, Paid aggregates all these signals, applying the corresponding pricing to create a total usage cost.

3. Translating Signals to Billing Events

From Signals to Invoices

  • Itemization: Each aggregated signal (action or outcome) becomes an itemized billing event on an invoice. For example:
    • Actions: “500 chatbot messages @ $0.01 each”
    • Outcomes: “10 booked meetings @ $5 each”
  • Transparency: This breakdown allows customers to see exactly what they are paying for, enhancing transparency and trust.

End-to-End Flow

  1. Signal Generation: Agents perform actions or achieve outcomes, emitting signals.
  2. Signal Collection: Paid collects and categorizes these signals in real time.
  3. Rule Application: Configured pricing rules (activity-based or outcome-based) are applied to each signal type.
  4. Invoice Creation: Signals are aggregated into billing events that are itemized on customer invoices.
  5. Payment: Customers receive a clear, detailed invoice that directly correlates with the actions taken and outcomes achieved by their AI agents.

Conclusion

By treating each action and outcome as a distinct signal, Paid translates the real-time activities of your AI agents into precise, billable events. This approach not only ensures that billing accurately reflects the value delivered but also provides transparency that builds customer trust. Whether you’re charging per message, per call, or per conversion, each signal is seamlessly converted into a clear, itemized charge on your customer’s invoice.