In October, Box introduced a novel pricing strategy for its generative AI functionalities, departing from the conventional flat-rate model. The company opted for a consumption-based approach where each user receives 20 credits per month, covering a variety of AI tasks totaling 20 events. Each task incurs a single credit. Once this limit is reached, users can tap into a communal pool of 2,000 additional credits. Beyond this threshold, engaging with a salesperson becomes necessary to explore options for purchasing more credits.
Box CEO Aaron Levie clarified that this model aligns with the idea of charging based on usage, acknowledging the varying levels of AI feature utilization among users. The pricing structure also factors in the expenses associated with leveraging the OpenAI API, the foundation of Box's extensive language model.
In contrast, Microsoft adheres to a more traditional pricing model. In November, the company announced a charge of $30 per user per month for utilizing its Copilot features, in addition to the regular monthly Office 365 subscription fees, which vary by customer.
As the trend of integrating generative AI features into enterprise software became evident in the past year, a panel discussion at Web Summit in November shed light on the challenges faced by SaaS companies in implementing these features.
Christine Spang, co-founder and CTO at Nylas, and Manny Medina, CEO at Outreach, highlighted the significant advancement that generative AI represents. Despite the existing hype, Spang emphasized the need for companies to find ways to seamlessly integrate this technology into their products.
She stated, "I'm not going to say it's like 10 out of 10 where the hype meets the [current] reality, but I do think there is real value there." According to Spang, the key lies in connecting the technology with other systems and applications to derive substantial value across various use cases.
