OpenAI Lets Some Customers Pay Only When AI Performs

Under this system, these clients pay only when the company’s artificial intelligence (AI) does its job, The Information reported Sunday (Aug. 30), citing a source familiar with the matter.

The report notes that this previously unreported change comes as software firms change their pricing practices for AI. As these companies sell more, they are moving from subscription fees to charging customers based on usage and whether the AI helps their company.

According to The Information, customer relationship management software company Salesforce is among the firms adopting this practice, letting businesses choose how they want to pay for its Agentforce AI.

That includes negotiating custom contracts that charge businesses based on how much the AI either grows revenue by helping salespeople close more deals or cuts costs by automating more customer service interactions.

“Customers want to buy and want to price in different ways. This is something I’ve learned really aggressively recently,” CEO Marc Benioff said in a call with investors last week.