Dialpad AI Agent uses conversation credits, but its billing rules are based on what the agent does during a session—not simply the number of minutes on a phone call. That distinction matters when you compare AI Agent with per-minute voice products or estimate how many credits a pilot will consume.
Reviewed 7 October 2026. Dialpad does not publish a universal AI Agent credit price on its public pricing page. Confirm your account’s rate card, included credits and recharge settings with Dialpad before building a budget.
How Dialpad describes AI Agent pricing
Dialpad’s public AI Agent pricing page describes conversation-based pricing: customers buy a pool of AI Agent Credits, and credits are used when the AI delivers value. Dialpad says a conversation is billable when the AI retrieves information or executes a real action, such as scheduling, routing or an order lookup. The page invites buyers to speak with sales rather than listing a public per-credit rate.
This is different from assuming every call minute is charged as AI Agent usage. Still, “only when value is delivered” needs to be interpreted through Dialpad’s detailed session criteria. The Dialpad Help Center credit guide provides those criteria for voice and digital sessions.
When a voice AI Agent session is billable
Dialpad’s Help Center says a voice session is billable when all of these conditions are met:
- There is at least one interaction between the customer and the AI Agent, including at least one customer response.
- The AI Agent looks up information or performs a task at least once.
- The session is closed—because inactivity times out, the customer hangs up, the AI closes it, or a live agent ends it after a transfer.
A session can still count after a transfer to a human if a skill was called and the other requirements are met. So “the agent handed off” does not automatically mean “no credit used.” Conversely, a call with no customer response, no lookup or task, or no closed session does not meet the listed voice criteria. Check Dialpad’s current documentation because platform behavior and contract rates can change.
Digital sessions follow a similar rule
For digital AI Agent sessions, the documented criteria also require an interaction with a customer, an information lookup or task, and a closed session. Dialpad defines an interaction as at least one response to the AI Agent. A transfer to a live agent can remain billable where the required skill was called and the session meets the other criteria.
The practical implication: a useful test plan should include both voice and digital examples if you plan to use both channels. Test a quick hang-up, a FAQ answer with a knowledge lookup, a scheduling action, a transfer, and an abandoned digital thread. Then compare the observed outcomes with the usage report and credit balance.
Usage alerts and credit controls
Dialpad says AI Agent usage alerts are emailed at 80% and 90% of credit usage, followed by a 100% balance alert that indicates whether auto-recharge ran or agents were paused. The alert contains links to Plan Management for changing recharge settings. Dialpad also says AI Agent credits are used by the primary office, which centralizes usage for the company.
Before launch, decide who receives these alerts, whether auto-recharge is enabled, what amount it adds, and what should happen when the balance reaches zero. A credit pool can make the cost harder to estimate than a simple per-minute price if your call mix or task completion rate changes, so set a monthly budget and review actual usage during the pilot.
What to request in a Dialpad AI Agent quote
- Price per credit or session and how many credits each type of action consumes.
- Included or committed credit volume, expiry or rollover rules, and overage rate.
- Whether voice, digital, transfers, tool calls and AI Agent bundles use the same pool.
- What qualifies as a “skill” call, lookup or completed task for billing.
- How usage reports separate billable AI Agent work from ordinary telephony charges.
- Whether auto-recharge is enabled by default and how agents behave at zero balance.
For a fair comparison, model a month from your own call mix: number of calls, share with a customer response, share that need a lookup or action, transfers, and digital sessions. Ask Dialpad to map those cases to expected credits in writing. Sysevo’s voice agents, call analysis and CRM workflows provide examples of the kinds of actions and records to include in a vendor pilot checklist.
Questions buyers ask
Does Dialpad AI Agent charge by the minute?
Dialpad describes AI Agent as conversation-credit based, with credits consumed when the agent retrieves information or performs an action. Regular phone carrier charges may be separate, so review both the AI Agent rate card and calling rates.
Is an AI Agent call billable if it transfers to a person?
It can be. Dialpad says a voice session remains billable after a transfer if a skill was called and the other session criteria are met.
Does Dialpad publish the AI Agent credit price?
Dialpad’s public pricing page explains the credit model but directs buyers to sales for AI Agent pricing. Request the rate card and usage assumptions for your channels and plan.
What happens when AI Agent credits run out?
Dialpad documents a 100% usage alert that tells you whether auto-recharge ran or agents were paused. Confirm the setting and fallback behavior on your account before routing live calls.
