Per message
Each AI message costs the model’s per-message price — the figure shown in the model picker — plus the carrier’s per-message cost.
The model price is the per-message figure in the picker
- Both directions of the conversation.
- A reply split at 1600 characters — each part is billed.
- The Auto Close Message, when it’s sent.
- Tool execution rows.
- System notes — keyword confirmations, handoff and takeover notes, third-party Send SMS notes.
- Failed sends.
When you’re charged
Once, when the session closes — from the inactivity timeout, the 24-hour backstop, an End Chat tool, an operator’s Close session, or a STOP keyword. If the debit fails, it’s retried nightly. The payer is the account of the agent’s creator.Inbound isn’t gated on credits
An inbound conversation is answered even at zero balance, and the balance can go negative until the session closes and settles. Only starting an outbound chat — by hand, scheduled or from Salesflow — checks the plan and the balance first.The credits page’s “blocked up front” list refers to starting an SMS chat, not to
answering one.
Testing, Atlas and Salesflow
- The test panel is billed. Each exchange is charged at your plan’s test rate, once, when you leave the editor or reset the conversation, to whoever tested. Unlike the WhatsApp test panel, it isn’t free.
- Atlas turns consume credits.
- AI-generated Salesflow openers consume credits. The conversation itself is charged when the session closes, not when the action runs.
The Send SMS tool
See The Send SMS tool.
Summary
Back to the start
Introduction to SMS agents
The full path through this section.