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AI-CATI studies are paid from your organization’s AI credits. This page explains how the cost is estimated, how credit is reserved and refunded, how the spend cap works, and which limits apply.

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How the Estimate Works

The estimate in Step 7 is shown as a band: The estimate is all-in: unanswered calls, refusals, break-offs, answering machines and number lookups are included. It has three parts:
  • AI interviewing — the talk minutes, priced per minute at your interview length. Longer interviews cost more per minute, because the AI re-reads the whole conversation on every turn.
  • Telephony — carrier minutes, priced at each destination’s rate. Telephony is passed through at cost.
  • Fixed costs.
The estimate is a projection, not a quote. It uses platform figures for response rates unless you enter your own expected rates in Step 7. Notices tell you when part of it is extrapolated (for example, a destination or language that has not been measured yet).

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What Changes the Price

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Credit Hold and Refund

1

At launch, the high figure is held

When a study (or a pre-test or sub-sample run) launches, the high figure of the estimate — or the spend cap, if lower — is reserved from your organization’s AI credits.
2

Calls are charged as they happen

Every dial is charged at the study’s rates.
3

Unspent credit is returned

When the run closes, whatever was not spent is refunded to your credits.
The launch dialog and Step 7 show your wallet balance and how much will be reserved:
  • “Your organization has XinAIcredits.ThisstudyreservesX in AI credits. This study reserves Y.”
  • If your balance is short, the shortfall appears with a Top up credits link to buy an AI-credit add-on.
  • On plans with unlimited credit, the hold is marked as unlimited.
  • If the balance cannot be read, the hold is shown as unavailable.
If credit runs out during fieldwork, calling stops and the study shows Stopped: out of credit. Top up and then Resume the study. See AI Credits and Buy Add-Ons.

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Spend Cap

The Authorized spend cap is set in Step 7. Live Monitoring shows the cap, the amount used, what remains, the amount held and the amount settled.

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Tests

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Resuming After a Stop

Resuming a stopped study reserves a fresh hold at today’s rates. If the rate card, your plan’s markup or the tier multiplier changed since the budget was reserved, the dialog shows the old and new values, and you must accept the current rates before resuming.

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Plan Limits

  • The number of AI-CATI studies may be limited by your plan. A study over the limit is marked Over plan limit in the Access type column of the Studies list, and is paused by the system.
  • Each study has a fixed number of sub-sample run slots.
See Subscription Usage for your plan’s limits.

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Setting Limits