# Selling Access to Your AI

Monetize your AI chatbot by selling credits or subscriptions powered by Stripe.


Turn your Chipp AI into a revenue stream by selling access through credit packages or subscriptions, powered by Stripe.

## Pricing Models

| Model | Best For |
|-------|----------|
| **One-time credits** | Pay-per-use, buy credits as needed |
| **Subscription** | Recurring monthly access |

## Setting Up Payments

<Steps>
  <Step title="1">
    <strong>Connect Stripe</strong>

    Go to **Access** page and click the **Sell** tab. Click the Stripe button to connect your account.

    If you don't have a Stripe account, you'll create one during the onboarding process.
  </Step>

  <Step title="2">
    <strong>Enable Monetization</strong>

    In the **Monetization** card, toggle it on. You can also configure:

    - **Free Trial Credits**: Number of credits new users start with
    - **Currency**: USD, EUR, GBP, BRL, and more
    - **Tax Behavior**: How taxes are calculated (exclusive, inclusive, or unspecified)
  </Step>

  <Step title="3">
    <strong>Create a Package</strong>

    In the **Packages** section on the right, click **New Package**:

    - **Name**: What users see (e.g., "100 Credits")
    - **Package Type**: One Time or Subscription
    - **Credits**: For one-time packages, how many credits the user gets
    - **Price**: Amount to charge
  </Step>

  <Step title="4">
    <strong>Enable User Signup</strong>

    Monetization requires user signup to be enabled. Go to the **Access** tab and make sure **User Signup** is turned on.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## One-Time Credit Packages

Users purchase a credit bundle and use credits per message.

### Setting Up Credits

1. Go to **Access** > **Sell** tab
2. Click **New Package**
3. Select **One Time** as Package Type
4. Set the number of credits and price
5. Click **Create Package**

### Example Packages

| Name | Credits | Price |
|------|---------|-------|
| Starter | 100 | $9 |
| Standard | 500 | $39 |
| Pro | 2000 | $99 |

## Subscriptions

Recurring monthly payments for ongoing access.

### Setting Up Subscriptions

1. Go to **Access** > **Sell** tab
2. Click **New Package**
3. Select **Subscription** as Package Type
4. Set your monthly price
5. Click **Create Package**

Subscriptions provide unlimited access (not credit-based).

## Free Trial Credits

Give new users free credits to try your AI:

1. Go to **Monetization** card
2. Set **Free Trial Credits** to your desired amount (e.g., 10)
3. New users get these credits automatically

This is useful for letting users try before they buy.

## Access Controls

### User Signup

Enable to require users to create an account:
- Required for monetization
- Tracks individual user usage
- Enables purchase history

### Domain Whitelisting

Restrict signups to a specific email domain:
1. Enable **Domain Whitelisting**
2. Enter your domain (e.g., `company.com`)
3. Only emails ending with that domain can sign up

Useful for internal tools or enterprise deployments.

### Email Gating

Whitelist specific email addresses:
1. Enable **Email Gating**
2. Add individual emails that are allowed to sign up

More restrictive than domain whitelisting.

## Advanced Checkout Options

In the **Monetization** card, expand **Advanced Checkout Options** to configure:

- **VAT Dynamic Tax**: Auto-calculate VAT based on user's country
- **Collect Shipping Address**: Request address during checkout
- **Collect Phone Number**: Request phone during checkout
- **Collect Tax ID**: For business purchases
- **Always Collect Billing Address**: Even without VAT
- **Allow Promotion Codes**: Let users enter discount codes

## Stripe Dashboard

Monitor your revenue at [dashboard.stripe.com](https://dashboard.stripe.com):

- **Payments**: All transactions
- **Subscriptions**: Active subscribers
- **Customers**: User details
- **Reports**: Revenue analytics

## Managing Packages

### Edit a Package

Click on a package in the table to edit its details.

### Delete a Package

Click the delete button next to a package to remove it. Users who already purchased won't be affected.

## Troubleshooting

### "Cannot enable monetization when user signup is disabled"

Monetization requires user signup. Go to the **Access** tab and enable **User Signup**.

### Stripe Not Connecting

1. Make sure you're logged into the correct Stripe account
2. Complete all Stripe onboarding steps
3. If stuck, try the connection process again

### Users Can't Purchase

1. Verify Stripe is connected
2. Check that monetization is enabled
3. Ensure at least one package exists
4. Verify user signup is enabled

## Coming Soon: Action-Based Charging

We're exploring the ability to charge credits only when your AI performs specific actions, rather than for every message.

**The problem with per-message charging:**
- Users get charged for simple messages like "hi there"
- Credits consumed even when no real value is delivered
- Doesn't align cost with actual value provided

**Action-based charging would let you:**
- Charge credits only when custom actions execute
- Tie costs to specific high-value AI behaviors
- Give users free conversation while charging for results

<Callout type="info">
Want this feature? Submit feedback on [Featurebase](https://chipp.featurebase.app) to help us prioritize it. The more interest we see, the sooner we'll build it.
</Callout>