AI Budget & Usage
How AI usage allowances work and how firm admins manage the overage pool.
The engineer assistant runs on a monthly usage allowance so AI costs stay predictable. This page explains how that allowance works, what happens when you hit it, and how firm admins extend it.
The two layers#
Usage of the engineer assistant is metered in dollars against two layers:
| Layer | Scope | Behavior |
|---|---|---|
| Base allowance | Per seat (per user) | Set by your firm's plan tier. Resets monthly. Does not roll over. |
| Extra pool | Firm-wide balance | Purchased in packs by a firm admin. Rolls over month to month. |
You spend your base allowance first. When it's used up, whether you can keep going depends on the extra pool.
How usage is counted#
Your usage is the real cost of each assistant turn, summed over the current monthly period. The period resets on your firm's subscription anniversary day each month — there's no manual reset, and unused base allowance does not carry forward.
Resuming a long past conversation replays the whole thread to the assistant and costs more than starting fresh. Start a new chat when you don't need the prior context.
What you see#
The assistant surfaces a usage meter showing how much of your base allowance you've used this period and when it resets. The firm-wide extra-pool balance is financially sensitive, so it's visible to firm admins — not to every seat.
What happens when you hit the limit#
When your base allowance is exhausted, the next turn is hard-stopped (no charge, no answer) unless extra usage is available to you:
- You have extra usage enabled and the pool has a balance — the assistant keeps running, and the spill is drawn from the firm's extra pool.
- You don't have extra usage, or the pool is empty — the turn is blocked with a message telling you what to do next.
The exact message depends on your account type:
- Firm seat, extra usage not enabled — you've used your monthly allowance; ask your firm admin to enable additional usage.
- Firm seat, pool empty — the firm's additional usage has run out; ask your firm admin to purchase more.
- Solo individual — you have no usage remaining; purchase additional usage from your account settings.
A turn that fails partway through still counts its tokens toward abuse protection, but it does not draw from your firm's purchased dollar pool — you're not charged the pool for an answer you didn't get.
For firm admins#
Firm admins manage the firm's AI usage:
- Enable extra usage per seat so a given engineer can spend past their base allowance into the firm pool.
- Top up the extra pool by purchasing usage packs, which roll over month to month.
- See the pool balance, which regular seats can't view.
If a seat is blocked, the fix is usually one of these two — enable extra usage for that seat, or top up the pool.
Related#
- Troubleshooting: Errors & Rate Limits — what each error means and how to recover.
- Chat History: Resume Conversations — how resuming affects usage.