Four Pricing Frameworks
- Activity-based: Pay per credit/token — low barrier, high competition risk
- Workflow-based: Bundle activities into workflow units — closer to value
- Outcome-based: Bonus payments for achieved results — aligns with customer value
- Agent-based: Price per AI agent replacing a human role — targets HR budgets, not tool budgets
What's Working Now
Narrow, deep AI agents replacing specific BPO functions: insurance policy renewals, claims review, truck-broker matching, pentesting. "Dig like a hedgehog into a narrow problem and become the best."
Key Insights
- AI replaces unwanted jobs first (insurance clerks, repetitive call centers), not high-salary creative roles
- Customers prefer easy purchasing (flat/usage-based) initially, but proven value demands value-aligned pricing
- Token costs may rise short-term due to reasoning complexity and multimodality
- Most AI companies don't capture their fair share of value created
"Start with a tiny customer segment. TAM doesn't matter. Deliver an exceptional experience in a small market, and it becomes a big market."