Per-Resolution Pricing Explained: How AI Customer Service Is Priced
Per-resolution pricing means you pay a fee each time the AI resolves a customer’s request, on top of or instead of a subscription. It ties cost to outcomes, which sounds fair. It also means your bill rises with every request the AI handles well, and it depends on how the vendor defines “resolved”. Before you choose, estimate your monthly volume and compare the cost per resolved conversation across the pricing models, not the headline price.
The main ways AI customer service is priced
| Model | What you pay for | What makes the bill grow |
|---|---|---|
| Per seat | Each person on your team who uses the tool | Hiring |
| Per ticket | Each conversation or ticket, often with an allowance in the plan | Every customer who writes in |
| Per resolution | Each conversation the AI resolves without a person | Every request the AI finishes |
| Per AI interaction or response | Each AI reply or AI-handled interaction | How many AI replies conversations take |
| Per token | The amount of text the AI model reads and writes | Message length and volume |
| Plan with an allowance | A monthly package with a set amount of AI use, plus top-ups | Moving to a bigger package or buying top-ups |
Many tools mix these. A helpdesk may charge per seat, include a number of tickets, and add a fee for each AI interaction above an allowance. Read the plan page carefully, including overage fees.
How per-resolution pricing works
The vendor counts a conversation as resolved when the AI handled it and the customer didn’t need a person, usually judged by rules such as “the customer didn’t ask for a human” or “the customer didn’t come back within a set time”. Each resolution is billed at a fixed fee. Conversations the AI hands to your team are usually not charged as resolutions, but they may still count toward a ticket or seat allowance.
What to check in the terms
- The definition of resolved. Is it confirmed by the customer, or assumed when the customer goes quiet? A customer who gave up still counts as resolved under some rules.
- What happens when a customer comes back. Is a follow-up question a new resolution?
- Minimums and commitments. Some plans require a minimum number of resolutions or an annual commitment.
- Overage. The fee once you pass the allowance, and whether there is a cap.
Pros and cons for an online store
Where it works
- You pay nothing for conversations the AI fails to resolve.
- Easy to start small when volume is low.
Where it hurts
- Your bill grows with your sales. Online stores get most of their messages around orders. More orders bring more “where is my order?” questions, and each resolved one is billed. Peak season can multiply the bill in a single month.
- The better the AI works, the more you pay. Moving more requests from your team to the AI is the point, but each one adds a fee.
- Hard to forecast. Your monthly cost depends on volume and on how the vendor counts resolutions.
How to estimate your monthly cost
- Count your conversations. Take last month’s messages across all channels. Check your peak month too.
- Estimate how many the AI can finish. Sort a sample into routine requests (order status, stock, sizing, shipping, returns) and ones that need a person.
- Price each model. For per-resolution, multiply the routine conversations by the fee and add the subscription. For plan-based pricing, estimate the AI replies per conversation (a typical order question takes a few back-and-forth messages) and find the package that covers it.
- Divide by the conversations resolved. The cost per resolved conversation is the number to compare.
- Do it again at double the volume. That shows you how each model behaves as you grow, or in peak season.
A note on platform fees
Whatever your AI tool charges, channel fees may come on top. On WhatsApp, Meta charges per delivered message by category and country, and service replies beyond each number’s monthly free allowance are charged. Meta’s own AI agent for WhatsApp, Meta Business Agent, is charged per token: US$2.00 per million tokens, which Meta says is about 4 to 5 US cents for a typical message (Meta’s pricing page, checked October 2026). See WhatsApp pricing and Meta Business Agent.
How AeroChat is priced
AeroChat uses flat monthly plans, not per ticket or per resolution. Each plan comes with a set number of AI responses. If you use more, you top up, like a mobile data plan. Admin seats are not limited on any plan. So the cost per conversation falls as you grow, instead of rising with every request the AI finishes. Current plans are on the pricing page. See also conversation-based pricing and resolution rate.
What you get for that is more than replies. AeroChat looks up orders, changes addresses, starts returns, sends payment links and books deliveries across WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger, TikTok Shop buyer chat, Shopee, Lazada, web chat and email, from workflows you describe in your own words.
Customer, on web chat: I need to change the delivery address on order 7702, I’m moving next week. (example)
AeroChat: I can do that. Can you confirm the email on the order, and the new address?
Customer: amir@example.com, 40 Hill Road, Apt 2B
AeroChat: Done. Order 7702 hasn’t been packed yet, so it will now go to 40 Hill Road, Apt 2B.
Behind the reply: one resolved request, a handful of AI responses, and no per-resolution fee.
Copy this into AeroChat
When a customer asks to change their delivery address, confirm their email or phone number and find the order. If the order hasn’t been packed, update the shipping address and read the new address back to them. If it has been packed or shipped, tell them it’s too late to change it here and hand the conversation to our team with the order number and the new address. Never change an address without the customer confirming it.
Questions
Is per-resolution pricing bad?
No. It suits some businesses, especially with low or very uneven volume. For a growing online store, check how the bill behaves at your peak month before you commit.
What counts as an AI response in AeroChat?
Each reply the AI sends counts as one AI response from your plan. A typical conversation takes several.
Are WhatsApp fees included?
Meta’s WhatsApp message fees are separate from any AI tool’s plan. AeroChat passes them through at cost.
How do I compare with a helpdesk?
Work out the cost per resolved conversation for each. See AI customer service vs helpdesk and Gorgias vs AeroChat.
See what your volume costs on a flat plan
Start your 7-day free trial. No credit card needed. Connect your store and channels, and see how many AI responses a week of your real conversations uses.
On Shopify? Install AeroChat from the Shopify App Store.