Credits
Understand GovTribe credits, enable credit-powered features, buy credit packs, configure auto-refill, and review account usage.
Click Credits, or open GovTribe, open the user menu, and click Credits.
Credits are managed at the account level. Only the account owner can enable or disable credits, buy credit packs, or change auto-refill settings.
What credits are
GovTribe credits are the account balance used for GovTribe AI, GovTribe MCP, automations, and other metered work. They are separate from your subscription plan: turning credits on does not upgrade, downgrade, or otherwise change the plan shown on the Account page.
Credits can be used in two ways:
| Credit source | What it means |
|---|---|
| Prepaid credits | Credits that already belong to the account, such as included trial credits, plan grants, sales grants, custom invoice credits, or purchased credit packs. |
| Pay-As-You-Go | Usage that is allowed after prepaid credits are depleted when the account has an active paid subscription, payment information on file, and Pay-As-You-Go is not blocked. |
Free trials include 100 credits. Trial accounts can use included trial credits, but they need a paid subscription before they can buy more credits.
GovTribe tracks usage in smaller internal units and displays the result as credits. Customer-facing pages show balances, thresholds, and usage totals in credits.
For the current schedule of how each metered action consumes credits, see the Credit Consumption Table.
Answer common AI credit questions
Use this section when GovTribe AI, GovTribe MCP, or another credit-powered workflow says credits are unavailable, no credits are enabled, or a user is worried about unexpected AI charges.
| Question | What to check |
|---|---|
| Can I get unexpected AI charges if credits are not enabled? | Credit-powered usage requires credits to be enabled on the account. Pay-As-You-Go also requires an active paid subscription, payment information on file, and Pay-As-You-Go access that is not blocked. |
| Why can I use AI during a free trial? | Free trials include 100 credits. Trial accounts can use those included credits, but they cannot buy more credits until the account becomes paid. |
| Why does AI say there are no credits? | The account may have credits disabled, no prepaid balance, Pay-As-You-Go unavailable, a credit freeze, or an account-owner setting that needs review. |
| How do I see what used credits? | Open Usage from Your Account Credits, then review usage by tool or by user. |
| How many credits did a GovTribe AI conversation use? | Open the conversation, choose Edit, and review Credits used in Details when usage data is available for that conversation. |
| Why can one user use AI but another cannot? | Credits are account-level, but the user still needs access to the account and the credit-powered feature they are trying to use. Ask the account owner to review the account and user setup. |
| I bought credits but still cannot use them. | Check History for the purchase, confirm the payment succeeded, and contact Customer Success if the balance or feature access still looks wrong. |
If the Credits page does not answer the issue, contact Customer Success with the account name, the user email affected, the credit balance shown, the feature that failed, and the exact message GovTribe displayed. If you need larger credit packaging, Pay-As-You-Go enablement, or a sales-led usage discussion, contact Sales.
What credits are used for
Credits currently power GovTribe AI, GovTribe MCP, and automations that run GovTribe AI work.
| Feature | What can consume credits |
|---|---|
| GovTribe AI | Credit-billed conversations, research, summaries, and AI-powered workflows inside GovTribe. GovTribe AI usage is metered by token type and service tier, including standard, priority, cached input, output, and long-context usage. |
| GovTribe MCP | MCP tool usage from connected AI applications such as ChatGPT, Claude, Microsoft 365 Copilot, Codex, Gemini, and other MCP-compatible clients. MCP usage can include searches, returned records, aggregations, vector-store search and storage, interactive app views, document previews, and workspace actions such as creating or updating pipelines, pursuits, saved searches, stages, and tasks. |
| Automations | Scheduled or event-triggered GovTribe AI runs. When an automation uses credit-billed GovTribe AI, the run needs available credits or Pay-As-You-Go access. |
The Usage page groups these meter events by tool or by user, so a single customer workflow can appear as more than one usage row. For example, an AI conversation can record separate input, cached input, and output usage.
Enable or disable credits
The Enable Credits card shows whether credits are Currently Enabled or Not Enabled.
When credits are not enabled, the account owner sees Enable Credits. Clicking it opens Enable GovTribe Credits. The confirmation explains that enabling credits allows users on the account to access credit-powered features and confirms that the account owner is responsible for usage charges. You must check I understand and agree to these terms before choosing Enable.
Enabling credits requires an active subscription. If the account has a payment method on file, GovTribe also makes sure Pay-As-You-Go billing can be used when prepaid credits run out. If there is no card on file, GovTribe can still enable credits, but Pay-As-You-Go is blocked until payment access is available, so usage must be covered by prepaid credits.
If your account still has a legacy GovTribe AI monthly limit, the confirmation warns that enabling credits removes that monthly AI Insights cap and moves future GovTribe AI usage to credit billing.
When credits are enabled, the account owner sees Disable Credits. Clicking it opens Disable GovTribe Credits and uses the same acknowledgement checkbox before the change can be submitted. Disabling credits immediately turns off access to credit-powered features for the account:
- GovTribe AI chats and AI-powered workflows stop working when they require credits.
- GovTribe MCP connections and API key access stop working.
- Automations that need credit-powered GovTribe AI are paused or prevented from running.
Unused prepaid credits remain on the account and are available if credits are re-enabled later. Any outstanding Pay-As-You-Go usage is still charged.
If you are not the account owner, the page explains that only the owner can turn credits on. When credits are off, you can choose Ask Account Owner to Enable Credits. GovTribe records the request and emails the account owner.
Your Account Credits
When credits are enabled, Your Account Credits summarizes the account's current credit status.
| Item | What it tells you |
|---|---|
| Auto-Refill | Shows Auto-Refill: On or Auto-Refill: Off. For account owners on paid accounts, clicking the badge opens Buy Credits on the Auto-Refill tab. |
| Balance | Shows the estimated prepaid credit balance. If the prepaid balance is depleted and Pay-As-You-Go is available, the balance area shows Pay-As-You-Go instead. |
| Usage MTD | Shows the account's credit usage for the current month to date. |
| Usage | Opens the Credit Usage page. |
| Buy Credits | Opens Buy Credits for account owners who can purchase credits. |
The note under the summary explains the current billing behavior:
| State | What it means |
|---|---|
| Auto-Refill is on | When the balance falls below the selected threshold, GovTribe automatically buys the selected credit pack and charges the payment method on file. |
| Auto-Refill is off and prepaid credits remain | When the prepaid balance is depleted, the account switches to Pay-As-You-Go if Pay-As-You-Go is available. |
| Pay-As-You-Go is active | The account is charged when usage reaches the account's Pay-As-You-Go billing threshold or for remaining usage on the last day of the month, whichever comes first. If the account does not use credit-based features, it is not charged for usage. |
| Pay-As-You-Go is disabled | Usage must be covered by prepaid credits. Buy a credit pack or contact Sales if credits are depleted and you need Pay-As-You-Go enabled. |
| Credit Freeze | Credit-powered work is paused for the account. Contact Customer Success to unfreeze the account. |
| Free trial or unpaid account | The account can use included credits, but it cannot buy additional credits until it has a paid subscription. |
Buy credits and auto-refill
Use Buy Credits from Your Account Credits to open the Buy Credits page. Non-owners and third-party account contexts are shown a message that the account is managed by the account owner. Free-trial accounts are routed back to the main Credits page because trial accounts need a paid subscription before buying more credits.
The page shows the current balance at the top, then organizes purchasing and account credit history into three tabs: Credit Packs, Auto-Refill, and History.
Credit Packs
Credit Packs lets the account owner buy prepaid credits in bulk. The current page shows these pack options:
| Pack | Price shown |
|---|---|
| Pay as you go | $0.09 per credit. This is informational only. Pay-As-You-Go credits are applied automatically when prepaid balance is zero and Pay-As-You-Go is available. |
| 3,500 credits | $239 |
| 8,500 credits | $449 |
| 15,000 credits | $699 |
| 25,000 credits | $979 |
The larger packs show extra-credit percentages compared with Pay-As-You-Go pricing. GovTribe also links from this area to the Credit Consumption Table so you can compare pack size with expected usage.
Buying a pack requires credits to be enabled, an active paid subscription, no credit freeze, and a payment method on file. Clicking a paid pack opens Purchase Credits, where you confirm the pack and price before buying. If no card is on file, or if payment fails in a way you can fix, GovTribe opens Update Payment Information so you can update the card and retry the purchase.
After a successful purchase, GovTribe shows a confirmation. The balance may update immediately or shortly after the purchase is recorded. If Auto-Refill is off, GovTribe prompts you with Turn on Auto-Refill? so you can use the pack you just bought as the refill pack.
Auto-Refill
Auto-Refill controls whether GovTribe automatically buys a prepaid credit pack when the account balance falls below a threshold.
Turn on Enable Auto-Refill to show the settings:
| Setting | What it does |
|---|---|
| Refill when balance falls below | The credit threshold that triggers a refill. The minimum is 1,000 credits. |
| Credit pack to purchase | The prepaid pack GovTribe buys when the balance drops below the threshold. |
| Save | Saves the selected threshold and pack. |
When Auto-Refill is on, GovTribe expects prepaid credits to cover usage. After usage is processed, if the remaining balance is below the saved threshold, GovTribe attempts to buy the selected pack automatically with the payment method on file.
If the auto-refill succeeds, GovTribe emails the account owner. If the charge fails, GovTribe emails the owner and retries according to the billing workflow. If the saved pack is no longer available, GovTribe notifies the owner so they can choose a new pack.
Turning Auto-Refill off clears the refill threshold and selected pack. If the account has a paid active subscription and a card on file, GovTribe makes Pay-As-You-Go available again so credit-based usage can continue after prepaid credits are depleted. If the account does not have a card on file or Pay-As-You-Go is otherwise blocked, usage must be covered by prepaid credits.
History
History lists account credit transactions. Use it to audit how credits were added, charged, granted, or reversed.
| Column | What it provides |
|---|---|
| Type | The transaction type, such as Purchase, Pay-As-You-Go, Sales Grant, Plan Grant, Free Trial, Custom Invoice, or Refund. |
| Credits | The number of credits added or removed by the transaction. Negative values are shown in red. |
| Date | When the transaction was recorded. |
| Expires | When the credits expire, Never when no expiration applies, Expired when the expiration date has passed, or N/A for refunds. |
Expand a row to see the transaction reason. When GovTribe has invoice links for the transaction, the expanded row can include View Invoice and Download PDF.
Usage
Use Usage from Your Account Credits to open Credit Usage. The page has three tabs: Usage, Alerts, and Tiers. The Alerts tab is visible to the account owner.
For a single GovTribe AI conversation, open the conversation and choose Edit. The edit drawer shows Credits used in Details when GovTribe has usage data for that conversation. This is the fastest way to answer how many credits one conversation has used. Use Credit Usage when you need account-wide usage grouped by tool, user, or month.
Usage tab
The Usage tab helps you understand where credits are being spent.
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Break Down By | Groups usage by Tool or User. Tool is the default. |
| Filter By User | Limits usage to selected users. This filter appears when the account has users with recorded usage. |
| Time Range | Chooses the chart window: Daily for 30, 60, or 90 days, or Monthly for 6, 12, 18, or 24 months. |
The chart shows credit usage over the selected time range. Tool breakdown shows stacked credit totals by metered tool. User breakdown shows each user's share as a percentage while preserving the raw credit totals in the chart tooltip.
Below the chart, GovTribe links to the Credit Consumption Table. Use that table when you need the current per-action rate behind a usage category.
The monthly table shows Usage in the selected month. Use the date picker to choose a month, then review:
| Column | What it provides |
|---|---|
| Tool or User | The selected breakdown label. |
| Events | The number of meter events recorded for that tool or user in the month. |
| Credits | The total credits consumed by those events. |
The table footer shows the total credits for the selected month and filters.
Types of usage logged
The usage table reports metered events. These are billing events, not necessarily one row per click or one row per AI answer.
Common usage categories include:
- GovTribe AI token usage for standard, priority, cached input, output, and long-context conversation segments.
- GovTribe MCP searches, search results, and aggregate requests.
- Vector-store search and storage used by MCP file-content workflows.
- Interactive MCP app views, including document previews.
- Workspace actions performed through MCP, such as creating, updating, or deleting pipelines, pursuits, saved searches, stages, and tasks.
Usage can be covered by prepaid credits, Pay-As-You-Go, or a combination of both. The Usage tab is designed to show how many credits were consumed; the History tab is designed to show credit transactions and billing-related records.
Alerts tab
The Alerts tab lets the account owner set a Monthly Usage Alert. Enter a credit threshold and choose Save Alert. GovTribe emails the account owner when month-to-date usage reaches or exceeds the saved threshold.
Use Remove Alert to clear an existing threshold. After an alert is sent, GovTribe waits before sending another alert for the same account so the owner is not repeatedly emailed for the same threshold.
Tiers tab
The Tiers tab shows usage tiers. Tiers upgrade automatically as total spend increases and affect usage-based rate limits.
| Column | What it provides |
|---|---|
| Name | The tier name. |
| Min. Spend | The total spend required for the tier. |
| Requests/Min | The rate limit for the tier. |
| PAYG Threshold | The Pay-As-You-Go billing threshold for the tier. If support has applied a custom threshold override, GovTribe shows the override for the current tier. |
| Current Tier | Marks the row that applies to your account. |
Use Tiers when you need to understand account rate limits for credit-powered workflows.
Related articles
- Choose the right GovTribe plan: Compare subscription plan access with credit-powered usage before choosing or changing a plan.
- Account: Manage your GovTribe plan, payment method, users, invitations, and account invoices.
- GovTribe AI: Use GovTribe AI conversations, projects, skills, daily briefings, automations, and personalization.
- GovTribe MCP: Connect GovTribe MCP to supported AI tools and manage MCP API keys.
- Automations: Configure scheduled or event-triggered GovTribe AI runs.