# Licensing for conversational agents

> Conversational agents use a hybrid user- and consumption-based licensing model. This page explains how licensing works, what factors affect consumption, and provides scenarios to help you plan your deployment.

Conversational agents use a hybrid user- and consumption-based licensing model. This page explains how licensing works, what factors affect consumption, and provides scenarios to help you plan your deployment.

## Pricing models overview

UiPath offers two licensing plans for conversational agents. Both use a consumption-based model where usage is measured in messages.

### Flex licensing

Flex licensing uses **Agent Units** for consumption.

| User license | Use case | Cost per message |
|--------------|----------|------------------|
| Automation Express / Autopilot Express | Broad internal rollout, Q&A chatbots | 50 free messages/user/year, then 1 Agent Unit |
| Cloud Basic User | Casual users with occasional needs | 50 free messages/user/month, then 1 Agent Unit |
| Attended / Citizen Developer / Automation Developer | Power users with high-volume needs | Unlimited* |

### Unified Pricing

Unified Pricing uses **Platform Units** for consumption.

| User license | Use case | Cost per message |
|--------------|----------|------------------|
| Express | Broad internal rollout, Q&A chatbots | 50 free messages/user/year, then Conversational Agent Rate |
| Basic | Casual users with occasional needs | 50 free messages/user/month, then Conversational Agent Rate |
| Plus / Pro | Power users with high-volume needs | Unlimited<sup>1</sup> |

<sup>1</sup> Subject to fair use policy: 500 messages per user per day.

The per-message rate varies by the LLM model tier configured for the agent:

| Model tier | Consumption rate |
| --- | --- |
| Standard models | 0.2 Platform Units (referred to as Conversational Agent Rate) |
| Basic models | 0.16 Platform Units (Conversational Agent Rate × 0.8) |

### Autopilot for Everyone

Autopilot for Everyone is charged per action at the Conversational Agent Rate (0.2 Platform Units per action on Unified Pricing).

### External users (no license)

For [anonymous access authentication](https://docs.uipath.com/agents/automation-cloud/latest/user-guide/conversational-agents-anonymous-access):

* No user license required.
* Requires an external application token (created in Admin portal).
* Each message consumes from the tenant's unit pool starting with the first message.
* Deploy via iFrame embedding with an auth server.

## What counts as a message

A **message** includes:
* The user's prompt.
* The agent's response(s).
* Any tool calls executed in between.

Messages with eight characters or fewer that don't execute a tool are **not** counted.

### Design time entitlement

Development and debugging of agents consumes from your design time entitlement. This is a daily LLM call allotment separate from user license free messages. Design time usage does not count against user free message allotments.

## Message consumption by user license

This table shows how consumption works at different message volumes:

| User license | Messages 1-50 | Messages 51+ |
|--------------|---------------|--------------|
| Express / Automation Express | Free | Consumes from tenant pool |
| Basic / Cloud Basic User | Free (monthly) | Consumes from tenant pool |
| Plus / Pro / Attended / Citizen Dev | Unlimited* | Unlimited* |
| External (no license) | Consumes from pool | Consumes from pool |

## Tool consumption

While some tool costs are included in the base message, certain tools have additional consumption requirements. Tools are billed per activity executed, not per connector configured.

| Tool | Flex (Agent / Misc Units) | Unified (Platform Units) |
|------|---------------------------|--------------------------|
| Analyze files | 1 AU per file | 0.2 PU per file |
| IXP tool | 1 AU per page | 0.2 PU per page |
| MCP tool | Included | Included |
| Context Grounding (semantic search) | Included | Included |
| Context Grounding (DeepRAG) | 1 AU per ~20 pages | 0.2 PU per ~20 pages |
| Integration Service activity | Included | Included |
| API workflow | 5 IS API calls per activity executed | 0.02 PU per activity executed |
| Cross-platform RPA | 1 Robot Unit | 0.2 PU |
| Windows RPA (Unattended) | Requires Unattended Robot | Requires Unattended Robot |
| Autonomous Agent (nested) | Nested agent's consumption | Nested agent's consumption |

## Scenarios

The following scenarios illustrate how licensing works in practice.

### Scenario 1: Simple Q&A assistant

#### Agent configuration
* Tools: Context Grounding semantic search only
* No additional tools

#### Consumption calculation

Each user message = 1 message (Context Grounding semantic search has no additional cost)

:::note
Free messages are not pooled across users. Each user has their own individual free allotment. If User A sends 20 messages and User B sends 80 messages, User A still has 30 free messages remaining while User B has exceeded their 50 free messages and their additional 30 messages consume from the tenant pool.
:::

**Example:** Usage with different license types:
* User A (Express): 20 messages sent this month → 20 free used, 30 remaining in their yearly allotment
* User B (Basic): 100 messages sent this month → 50 free used, 50 consume from tenant pool
* User C (Plus): 500 messages sent this month → all free (unlimited*)
* **Total tenant pool consumption:** Only User B's 50 messages exceeding their free tier

For customers who want a pure consumption-based model without maintaining Automation Cloud user accounts, deploy your conversational agent via iFrame embedding using [anonymous access](https://docs.uipath.com/agents/automation-cloud/latest/user-guide/conversational-agents-anonymous-access). This begins consuming units immediately with no free tier.

### Scenario 2: Self-service assistant with multiple tools

#### Agent configuration
* Context Grounding semantic search
* Analyze files tool
* Integration Service connector
* API workflow with two connector activities executed

#### Consumption calculation

Additional tool costs

| Interaction type | Consumption (Flex) | Consumption (Unified) |
|------------------|-------------------|----------------------|
| Semantic search | Included | Included |
| File analysis | 1 AU per file | 0.2 PU per file |
| IS connector | Included | Included |
| API workflow (2 activities executed) | 10 IS API calls | 0.04 PU |

**Example:** Monthly usage with different license types and tools:

| User | License | Messages | Flex consumption | Unified consumption |
|------|---------|----------|------------------|---------------------|
| A | Express | 30 (20 Q&A, 10 file analysis) | 30 free messages, 10 AU for file analysis | 30 free messages, 2 PU for file analysis |
| B | Basic | 75 (50 Q&A, 15 file analysis, 10 API workflows) | 50 free, 25 messages from pool + 15 AU tools + 100 IS API calls | 50 free, 5 PU messages + 3.4 PU tools = 8.4 PU |
| C | Plus | 200 (mixed tools) | Messages free*, tool consumption applies | Messages free*, tool consumption applies |

## Bring your own model (Preview)

Conversational agents support [LLM Configurations](https://docs.uipath.com/automation-cloud/automation-cloud/latest/admin-guide/managing-ai-trust-layer#configuring-llms) so you can use your own LLM subscriptions. This feature is in **preview**. During the preview period, there is no charge per message, however additional consumption based on tool usage still applies.

## Managing consumption

### Admin controls

Administrators can manage consumption at the tenant level:

* Monitor usage through the Admin portal.
* Set up quotas for consumption thresholds.
* Review usage by agent.

## Next steps

* [Deployment](https://docs.uipath.com/agents/automation-cloud/latest/user-guide/conversational-agents-deployment): Deploy your agent
* [Limitations and FAQ](https://docs.uipath.com/agents/automation-cloud/latest/user-guide/conversational-agents-limitations): Current limitations and troubleshooting