We want you to be fully aware when you’re reaching certain levels of usage in Intercom–which is why you can set up your own usage alerts and keep your budget on track.
Teammates with the 'Can Manage Usage Alerts' can set usage alerts for:
Messages sent
Channels: Phone, SMS, WhatsApp, Emails
Conversations
Fin Outcomes
Qualifications
Operator credits
All teammates listed as a billing contact will be notified via email when you reach your set levels of usage.
Review your billing contacts before setting up an alert.
There are two specific permissions that teammates will need to edit usage:
Can manage usage alerts
Without this, teammates cannot modify the usage reminders of a workspace. This includes the following settings: Editing Usage Reminders
If a teammate tries to edit usage without those permissions, the 'This feature is restricted' pop up will appear.
Can manage hard limits
Without this, teammates cannot modify the usage limit section of a workspace. This includes the following settings: Editing Usage Limits
If a teammate tries to edit usage without those permissions, the 'This feature is restricted' pop up will appear. 👇
Viewing your usage
To view your usage, go to Settings > Subscription > Usage.
The Usage page overview, provides a comprehensive view of your account's consumption. This page helps you monitor and manage your usage of various Intercom features and services. “Billing period” is the timeframe the charts below refer to - your current invoice period. It shows the usage data specific to your current billing cycle.
Note:
Keep in mind that for seats, the cost displayed on the chart may differ from your invoice as seats will be prorated based on actual daily seat usage. Learn more about how billing works.
Usage limits cannot be configured during your Fin trial period. While you are trialing Fin you do not have access to the Usage section of the dashboard and will need to wait until you start a paid subscription to set these limits.
For SMS usage alerts, you'll need to select a specific region (e.g. US) from the region filter because the alert option doesn't appear when the region is set to All.
If you're on a contract, the blue threshold line on the charts indicates your contracted amount for that metric. It allows you to compare your actual usage with your contracted limit. If you come across a chart displaying usage without the presence of the blue threshold line, it indicates that you are using the metric on a pay-as-you-go basis. In this scenario, you will receive a bill for the usage at the end of the period.
If your subscription includes the Proactive Support Plus add-on, the dashboard will also provide information on your current ‘Messages Sent‘ usage.
The blue threshold line on the chart specifically represents the ‘Messages Sent’ that are covered by the base fee included in your subscription, or any contracted value. This visual cue helps you track your usage of ‘Messages Sent’ and identify the portion included in the add-on, and where you’ve gone over this amount.
Filtering your usage
To view the Usage page, go to Settings > Subscription > Usage. The page includes filters to help you drill into specific data:
Billing period: use the date dropdown to view usage from any past billing period. The current period is shown by default, but you can select any previous month going back over a year.
Billing frequency: filter by Monthly, Quarterly, or Annual to see your usage.
Setting usage alerts
You can choose which metrics you'd like to set an alert for, and each metric can have a different threshold. Setting an alert allows your workspace billing contacts to receive notifications when you are near to, or you have reached a limit.
To set a usage alert:
From there, click Set usage alerts and limits
Select what usage you want to manage in the tabs at the top.
Turn on Alerts and set a number when you would like to be notified.
Click Save changes.
Note:
Alerts vs. limits: A usage alert only notifies you when you've hit your set threshold for the billing cycle — it doesn't disable or pause anything. A limit does pause usage once reached.
Alerts and limits are configured per workspace. If you have multiple workspaces, set them up separately in each.
Hitting a limit only restricts that workspace. Fin, Pro Conversations, Operator, or Fin Voice will be restricted in the workspace that hit its limit, while other workspaces continue unaffected.
If you're on a contract, this is a per-workspace control on top of a shared pool. Your contracted usage is shared across all workspaces, but each workspace's alert and limit only track and restrict that workspace's share — they don't draw from or affect the others. Without a contract, there's no shared pool: each workspace bills and restricts independently.
Updating a usage alert threshold
You can update the threshold for a usage alert at any time. If the threshold is updated to a value below the current usage level, the change will take effect from the next billing cycle. If the threshold is raised above the current usage level, changes will come into effect within the an hour.
Turning off a usage alert
To turn off a usage alert:
Click Set usage alerts and limits.
Select what usage you want to manage in the tabs at the top.
Turn off the Alerts button.
Click Save changes.
Manage Fin outcomes usage and set hard limits
Set Fin outcomes usage alerts
An outcome is counted when Fin either fully resolves a conversation, or hands it over to a human agent as configured by a Procedure.
To set Fin outcomes usage alerts:
Click Set usage alerts and limits on the "Fin outcomes" card.
Turn on Alerts, then enter the number of credits at which you'd like to be notified.
Click Save changes.
Setting and receiving this alert notification won't disable Fin AI Agent. You can take proactive measures such as setting hard limits to turn Fin AI Agent off entirely, or only enabling it for a subset of your customer support queries.
Set Fin outcomes hard limits
For Fin outcomes you can also set hard limits to your usage.
To set a hard limit for Fin outcomes:
Click Set usage alerts and limits on the "Fin outcomes" card.
Turn on Limit and set the number of Fin outcomes when Fin should be turned off.
Click Save changes.
Once this limit is reached, Fin AI Agent will be disabled for any new and existing conversations for the remainder of your billing period.
For any new conversations started after the limit is reached, the conversation will immediately jump to your configured handover steps. Fin will not be considered involved in these conversations, so they won’t count towards your resolution rate. For conversations already in progress when the limit was hit, the handover will trigger the next time the customer interacts with them.
You’ll receive an email notification as well as be notified in-app when a limit has been reached.
Note:
An outcome is counted whenever Fin successfully completes an action: a Resolution or a Procedure handoff (executed up to the point of handoff).
We cannot guarantee the limit will be 100% accurate. Due to the nature of outcomes and how we calculate them, the state of conversations can change over time, so Fin may stop slightly before or after the exact number you set.
Setting a limit below your current usage stops Fin immediately. Fin will resume automatically once usage drops back below the limit.
Your limit can't go below your contracted minimum. If your subscription includes 50 outcomes, you'll be billed for 50 even if you set the hard limit to 30.
Multi-workspace accounts: if you have a contract, your outcome usage is pooled and shared across all workspaces. Without a contract, each workspace bills independently.
Set usage alerts for Fin Voice
You can set alerts to have your billing contacts notified when you approach a certain number of Fin Voice outcomes. This helps you monitor usage without stopping the service.
To set a usage alert for Fin Voice:
Click Set usage alerts and limits on the "Fin Voice outcomes" card.
Turn on Alerts, then enter the number of Fin Voice Outcomes at which you'd like to be notified.
Click Save changes.
Tip: You can also opt-in to receive notifications when your usage reaches 50% and 80% of the threshold you've set.
Setting an alert only sends a notification; it will not stop Fin Voice from running or prevent you from incurring further charges.
Set a usage limit for Fin Voice
You can set a monthly cap on the number of Fin Voice outcomes to prevent unexpected overages.
To set a usage limit for Fin Voice outcomes:
Click Set usage alerts and limits on the "Fin Voice outcomes" card.
Turn on Limit and enter the maximum number of outcomes you want to allow for the current billing period.
Click Save changes.
Once this limit is reached, Fin Voice will be turned off for the remainder of the billing cycle.
Note: Usage limits apply only to Fin Voice outcomes. Telephony charges from your provider (e.g., Twilio) are billed separately and are not affected by this limit.
Set up a backup workflow when Fin AI Agent reaches a Fin outcome limit
If you have set a Fin AI Agent usage limit, you can configure a backup workflow to trigger once that limit has been reached. Create a workflow branch with the “Let Fin answer” step as one branch path, and the new “Fin outcome limit reached” action as the other path.
Note: This requires access to Workflows on your current plan.
Audience targeting
Use the "Fin outcome limit reached" action in the workflows Audience rules. This workflow will trigger once the usage limit has been reached.
Note: Usage limits are recalculated every hour on the half-hour, so it is possible for you to exceed the usage limit within this hour. This predicate will only be marked to true once the usage limit has been recalculated, not immediately after the limit has been reached.
If you do not use the “Outcome limit reached” predicate before the workflow passes to Fin AI Agent, the behavior remains unchanged. Any messages over the usage limit will be sent directly to the Inbox.
Manage Pro usage and set hard limits
Set alerts for Pro Conversations
You can track your Pro conversation usage for the current billing period and set alerts so billing contacts are notified before you reach your monthly limit.
Scroll to the "Conversations" card and click Set usage alerts and limits.
Select Alerts, then enter the number of credits at which you'd like to be notified.
Billing contacts are notified by email when usage hits 50%, 80%, and 100% of the monthly amounts.
Conversation usage includes both Fin and teammate-handled conversations. Spam and non-actionable emails are excluded.
Set a usage limit for Pro Conversations
Pro usage limits let you set a hard cap on Pro Conversations to give you greater control and predictability over your Pro spend. Once the cap is reached, Pro conversations are no longer metered for the remainder of the billing cycle, so you'll never face unexpected overages.
To set a hard usage cap for Pro Conversations:
Scroll to the "Conversations" card and click Set usage alerts and limits.
Select Limit, then enter the maximum number of Pro conversations for the billing cycle.
Click Save changes and confirm changes to apply the limit.
Once the cap is reached, Pro conversations will no longer be metered for usage for the rest of the billing cycle.
Set alerts for Operator credits
The Pro add-on includes Operator credits each month. Each workspace gets 2,000 free credits per month independently. However, if you're on a contract, your credit allocation scales with your contracted conversation volume and is shared across all your workspaces. You can track your credit usage and set alerts so billing contacts are notified before you hit your monthly inclusion.
Scroll to the "Credits" card and click Set usage alerts and limits.
Select Alerts, then enter the number of credits at which you'd like to be notified.
Billing contacts are notified by email when usage hits 50%, 80%, and 100% of the amount you set.
Set a usage limit for Operator credits
For existing Pro customers, Operator stops at your preset included-credit limit unless you opt into pay as you go.
If you want Operator to keep running after you use your monthly included credits, raise the limit or remove it. Any usage beyond your included credits is charged at $0.01 per credit. If your workspace includes 2,000 credits, usage above 2,000 is charged at that rate.
To update the limit:
Scroll to the "Credits" card and click Set usage alerts and limits.
Select Limit, then enter a new limit or remove it entirely to allow unlimited usage.
Click Save changes to apply.
Note: Changes to alerts and limits come into effect within the next hour. Credits don't carry over to the next billing period.
Data freshness
The data displayed on the Billing Overview page is refreshed automatically every 30 minutes giving you access to the most up-to-date information and transparency into your current usage. Usage alerts will be sent according to this data.
You can see details on when the page was last updated at the top of the page.
Usage shown on your invoice
We've made improvements to how usage data is shown on your invoice:
For customers using our new system, your billing is now perfectly aligned with your actual usage during the period, as your usage is calculated at the exact moment your invoice is created.
If you're still on our previous system, the usage shown on your invoice may be up to 24 hours old relative to your actual usage for that billing period. Any usage during this delay is added to your next invoice.
Check the tooltip for Fin outcomes on your Subscription Usage page - if you see the message "Note that this figure may be up to 24 hours old relative to your in-product reporting," you're on the previous system. If you don't see this message, you're already using our improved billing system.
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