Billing and Usage

XC AI Content Automation uses a virtual currency called XC Tokens (XCT) to track and bill for AI content generation. Every time you generate product descriptions, the platform calculates the cost in XCT and deducts it from your organization's balance. This guide explains how tokens work, how your balance is structured, and where to monitor your usage.

XCT Tokens Explained

XCT is the platform's usage currency. Rather than billing you directly for raw AI provider costs, the platform converts all usage into a single, unified unit -- the XC Token -- so that pricing remains simple and predictable regardless of which AI model you choose.

Each content generation request consumes tokens. The exact amount depends on two factors: the AI model used and the length of the content produced (measured in input and output tokens sent to and received from the AI provider). More capable models cost more XCT per generation. The platform groups models into four pricing tiers:

Tier	Relative Cost	Example Models
Economy	Lowest	DeepSeek Chat, Gemini Flash
Standard	Moderate	Claude Haiku
Premium	High	Claude Sonnet, Gemini Pro
Ultimate	Highest	Claude Opus, DeepSeek Reasoner

When selecting a model in your project's AI Settings, each option displays a visual cost indicator so you can quickly gauge the relative expense before generating content.

Balance Types

Your organization maintains two separate token balances, each with different rules for how they are replenished and when they expire.

Subscription Balance

Your subscription balance is a monthly token allocation determined by your plan tier. It is credited automatically at the start of each billing cycle. Unused subscription tokens do not roll over -- any remaining balance expires when the new cycle begins and a fresh allocation is applied.

Top-up Balance

Top-up tokens are additional XCT purchased separately, outside of your subscription. They are added to your account by an administrator after payment is received. Unlike subscription tokens, top-up tokens never expire and remain available until they are consumed.

Consumption Order

When you generate content, the platform always draws from your subscription balance first. Once your subscription tokens for the current cycle are fully consumed, the platform begins drawing from your top-up balance. This ensures that your expiring subscription tokens are used before your persistent top-up tokens.

Subscription Tiers

The platform offers several subscription tiers, each providing a different monthly XCT allocation:

Tier	Monthly XCT	Intended For
Free	50 XCT	Trial and testing
Starter	500 XCT	Small shops and individuals
Pro	2,000 XCT	Regular users and growing businesses
Business	10,000 XCT	Agencies and high-volume users
Enterprise	Custom	Large clients with negotiated terms

To change your subscription tier, contact your organization administrator or reach out to support. Tier changes may take effect immediately or at the start of the next billing cycle, depending on your arrangement.

Viewing Your Balance

Dashboard Token Widget

The main Dashboard includes a token widget that gives you a quick overview of your current balance. It displays:

• Your total available XCT (subscription plus top-up combined).
• A usage percentage showing how much of your subscription allocation you have consumed this cycle.
• A low-balance warning when more than 90% of your combined balance has been consumed.

This widget is visible to all users in the organization, so every team member can stay aware of remaining capacity.

Usage Page (Admin Only)

Administrators have access to a dedicated usage page with a more detailed breakdown of token consumption. This page includes the analytics and transaction history described in the sections below.

Usage Analytics

Note: Usage analytics are available to users with the Admin role only.

The usage analytics view provides a summary of your organization's token consumption over the last 30 days. It includes the following breakdowns:

• By model tier -- See which pricing tiers (Economy, Standard, Premium, Ultimate) consumed the most XCT. This helps you understand whether your team is favoring higher-cost models and whether shifting to a different tier could reduce spend.
• By provider -- View total XCT consumed per AI provider (Anthropic, DeepSeek, Google). This is useful for understanding which provider is driving the majority of your usage.
• Request counts -- See the total number of generation requests made within each model tier, giving you a sense of volume in addition to cost.

Use these analytics to make informed decisions about model selection, budget planning, and whether your current subscription tier is appropriately sized for your workload.

Transaction History

Note: Transaction history is available to users with the Admin role only.

The transaction history provides a complete, auditable record of every token movement in your organization's account. Each entry in the list includes:

• Date -- When the transaction occurred.
• Type -- The kind of transaction: usage (content generation debit), subscription allocation (monthly credit), top-up (manually added tokens), expiration (unused subscription tokens expired at cycle end), or adjustment (manual correction by an administrator).
• Description -- A short explanation of the transaction.
• Balance bucket -- Whether the transaction affected the subscription balance or the top-up balance.
• Amount -- The number of XCT credited or debited (positive for credits, negative for debits).

You can filter by transaction type to isolate specific kinds of activity -- for example, viewing only usage debits to understand consumption patterns, or only top-ups to review purchase history. The list is paginated, so you can navigate through your full history without loading everything at once.

Low Balance Warning

When your organization's combined balance (subscription plus top-up) is more than 90% consumed, a warning banner appears on the Dashboard. This alert is designed to give you advance notice so you can arrange a top-up or adjust your usage before running out of tokens entirely.

If your balance reaches zero XCT and no top-up tokens remain, content generation requests will fail with an insufficient balance error. To resume generating content, your administrator will need to either add a top-up or wait for the next billing cycle to receive a fresh subscription allocation.