AI credits
What uses AI credits in Zanfia, how the monthly allowance and extra credits work, where to check the balance, and what happens when the credits run out.
AI credits are the shared budget for everything AI does in your account. Your plan includes a monthly allowance, and on a paid plan you can add extra credits when you need more. This page explains what draws from the budget, where you see it, and what stops when it is empty.
What uses credits
| Uses AI credits | Does not use AI credits |
|---|---|
| Chatting with the Assistant, including the screenshots it reads | Everything you do by hand in the dashboard |
| Building a product with the Magic Box | Selling, checkouts, payments and client access |
| Product ideas from your website, a social profile or keywords | Sending emails and running automations |
| Generating pages and images, such as a product cover | Video transcription, which has its own pool of minutes |
| AI drafts of texts, such as offer copy | |
| AI tools in courses, such as generated quizzes, summaries and the tutor | |
| Voice dictation in the Assistant and in the Magic Box |
There is no fixed price per action. The cost follows the amount of work: a short answer takes little, generating a whole page or an image takes more. The number next to the send button in the chat updates after each action, so you can see what a request took.
Two pools of credits
| Pool | Where it comes from | How long it lasts |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly allowance | Included in your plan. | Resets at the start of each billing month; the meter shows Resets [date]. Unused credits do not carry over. |
| Extra credits | Credit packs you buy, or credits added to your account by Zanfia. | Carry over from month to month. Purchased packs are valid for 12 months; the meter shows Expires [date]. |
The monthly allowance is always used first. Extra credits are touched only after the allowance for the month is used up. Your total balance is the sum of both.
Where to see the balance
| Place | What it shows |
|---|---|
Settings → Usage (/settings/usage), section AI credits | Monthly allowance as used / total with a bar and the reset date, and Extra credits when you hold any. |
| Profile menu, item AI credits | The total balance; clicking it opens Settings → Usage. |
| The lightning number next to the send button in the chat | Credits left; hovering shows AI credits left: [number]. Click to see usage and top up. |
| The Assistant itself | Ask "How many AI credits do I have left?" and it reads the same numbers. |
The bar on the Monthly allowance meter changes color as you approach the limit: it turns to a warning color at 80% used and to red at 95%. On a plan without a cap the meter reads Unlimited. The Usage tab is visible to team members who have access to billing.
Below AI credits the same screen has a Transcription section with Monthly minutes: transcribing video and audio is counted in minutes, separately from credits.
What happens at zero
When both pools are empty, AI actions stop and everything else keeps working. Your products stay published, checkouts keep selling, clients keep their access, and emails and automations keep running.
| Where you are | What you see |
|---|---|
| The Assistant chat | You're out of AI credits. Top up or change your plan to keep using AI. with the buttons Buy credits and Change plan. |
| The Magic Box | You're out of AI credits with the button Top up credits. |
| Other AI actions | The same message with a Buy credits link. |
Buy credits opens Settings → Usage with the Buy AI credits window; Change plan opens Settings → Billing (/settings/billing). AI works again as soon as credits are available: after a purchase, after a plan change, or when the monthly allowance resets.
Getting more credits
Credit packs are one-time purchases that add to your monthly allowance. The Buy credits button appears in Settings → Usage and in Settings → Billing for accounts on a paid plan, for the account Owner, the only role that manages billing. On a trial the AI credits row in Settings → Billing reads Available on paid plans. Upgrade to a paid plan to buy credit packs. with an Upgrade plan button. A plan with a larger monthly allowance is the other way to get more.
How to buy a pack step by step, and how extra storage works, is covered in Buy AI credits, transcription minutes and storage.
Good to know
Voice dictation can be switched off for the whole account in the Assistant's settings (Preferences → Voice dictation) if you do not want it to draw from the budget; see Personalize the Assistant. A message that a video could not be transcribed because of missing minutes is about the transcription pool, not about AI credits.
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