askEdgi - Consumption and Usage
Consumption and usage within askEdgi define how resources, compute, and AI-powered capabilities are utilized across different deployment models. This document provides a comprehensive understanding of the spend behavior, billing triggers, and usage visibility for users in both Public and Enterprise (SaaS) editions.
askEdgi operates on a pay-as-you-consume principle - meaning every AI interaction, workspace initiation, file upload, or recipe execution contributes to a user’s defined spend limit.
Overview of Consumption Models
askEdgi offers two primary consumption and billing models:
Public Edition
Self-service model with pre-defined spend limits, trial periods, and public recipe monetization. Ideal for individuals, freelancers, and learners exploring AI-driven analytics.
Enterprise (SaaS) Edition
Subscription-based enterprise deployment with controlled OpenAI API provisioning, monitored budgets, and centralized billing. Designed for governed organizational usage.
Each model differs in how spend limits are enforced, how billing begins, and how resource consumption is tracked. The following sections describe these differences in detail.
Enterprise (SaaS) Edition Consumption and Usage
Subscription and Included Quota
In the Enterprise model, consumption is governed under a controlled SaaS environment. Each organization receives an allocated monthly AI usage quota provisioned via OvalEdge’s integrated OpenAI account.
By default, each enterprise tenant is allocated $100 per month worth of OpenAI API usage.
Beyond this, additional calls are billed at $0.02 per API request, managed by OvalEdge.
Alternatively, enterprises can configure their own OpenAI API key for direct billing and quota management.
Billing Model and Quota Enforcement
OvalEdge enforces spend and usage limits using OpenAI’s built-in project-level controls:
Budget Threshold Alerts: Trigger notifications at 80% of quota consumption.
Budget Hard Caps: Automatically halt API calls once the maximum monthly budget is reached.
Rate Limiting: Restricts excessive usage to prevent performance degradation.
Model Access Control: Ensures only authorized models are used per plan tier.
Billing is consolidated at the organizational level, enabling unified visibility and cost forecasting through enterprise dashboards and the My Usage interface.
Customer Options for API Key Management
Enterprise customers can manage API consumption in two ways:
OvalEdge-Provided API Key (Default)
Managed by OvalEdge; includes a $100 monthly quota. Additional usage is billed at $0.02 per call. Ideal for organizations seeking managed governance and consolidated billing.
Customer-Provided API Key
Customers generate and configure their own OpenAI key. Billing and quota management are handled directly by OpenAI. OvalEdge does not impose consumption restrictions in this case.
Security and Data Privacy in API Consumption
All API keys are encrypted and securely stored; plaintext keys are never visible in OvalEdge systems.
Each enterprise tenant is mapped to a dedicated OpenAI project, ensuring customer isolation and precise usage tracking.
Data confidentiality is strictly maintained - OpenAI does not retain or train on customer prompts, ensuring privacy compliance.
Public Edition Consumption and Usage
Free Trial Account and Spend Limits
When a new user signs up for the Public Edition, a free trial account is automatically provisioned.
Each trial account receives a $10 spend limit and remains valid for 14 days.
Once the trial expires or the spend limit is reached, further actions requiring compute or AI interaction are paused until the user upgrades to a paid plan.
Higher plans, such as Business or Business Plus, include predefined limits - e.g., $100 and $500, respectively.
This spend limit covers all forms of consumption within askEdgi, including:
Workspace compute costs
AI token consumption
File uploads and associated S3 storage charges
Recipe creation and execution charges
Billing Triggers and Accumulation of Charges
Charges accumulate automatically based on the following triggers:
Workspace Activation
Billing begins once the workspace is initiated (e.g., when the user opens the ask screen). Even if recipes are not yet executed, compute charges begin.
Recipe Execution
Each recipe execution deducts cost from the spend limit proportional to the compute and AI token consumption.
File Upload
Uploading any file initiates S3 storage costs that continue for the duration of the file’s presence in the workspace.
AI Interactions
Prompts, enrichments, or analytics tasks contribute to the AI token usage and are billed within the overall limit.
Recipe Consumption and Earnings
When a user executes a recipe:
The corresponding execution cost is deducted from their credit balance.
The recipe creator earns credits, creating a circular monetization ecosystem within the public Marketplace.
These transactions are reflected in the Usage and Earnings tabs under Manage Subscription, allowing users to monitor both consumption and income transparently.
Monetisation (Public Edition)
The Public Edition uniquely supports creator monetisation through the askEdgi Marketplace.
Creators can list recipes for free or paid consumption models (per-execution or subscription).
Consumers spend from their credit limit when executing recipes, and a portion of that spend (typically 50%) is credited to the creator.
The system ensures automated earnings tracking, credit settlement, and monthly disbursement to creators.
This creates a self-sustaining ecosystem - encouraging community-driven innovation while maintaining transparent spend control.
Billing Triggers and Charge Accumulation
The following events define when billing starts and how usage costs accumulate:
Workspace Compute
When the user launches the workspace (askEdgi screen)
Public & Enterprise
Recipe Execution
When a recipe is triggered or run
Public & Enterprise
AI Token Consumption
For each AI-driven query, enrichment, or prompt
Public & Enterprise
File Upload (S3)
Upon uploading a file to the workspace
Public
API Usage (OpenAI)
When model inference occurs via integrated APIs
Enterprise
Each consumption type contributes to the monthly usage total and is reflected in the Usage Tab for both deployment variants.
Spend Limit Enforcement and Alerts
askEdgi ensures financial control through automated background jobs and usage monitoring:
Trial Reminder Job
Sends alerts before trial expiration (Public Edition).
Spend Limit Check Service
Monitors usage hourly and restricts transactions beyond defined thresholds.
Budget Threshold Alert (Enterprise)
Triggers when 80% of the quota is reached.
Budget Exhaustion Alert
Notifies users and admins when the budget limit is crossed.
Monthly Billing Service
Resets spend limits, populates billing tables, and refreshes quotas.
Alerts are also displayed contextually within the askEdgi UI, helping users act proactively before limits are reached.
Usage Monitoring (My Usage)
The My Usage section provides transparency into current and historical consumption across major categories:
Compute - Infrastructure usage and related costs.
AI Tokens - Charges accumulated from AI-based queries and enrichments.
Recipes - Recipe execution and associated costs.
Functions - Charges for applied enrichments or transformations.
Hovering over graphs displays real-time charge details, allowing users to analyze month-on-month trends.
In Enterprise environments, usage reports can also be requested from the OvalEdge support team for audit or budgeting purposes.
Summary
askEdgi’s consumption and usage framework ensures transparency, control, and flexibility across deployment variants.
Public Edition offers individual users an accessible entry point with defined spend limits and community monetisation options.
Enterprise Edition provides a secure, quota-based consumption model with enterprise-grade governance, API isolation, and audit visibility.
This model ensures that every unit of resource consumed - from compute to AI tokens - is traceable, optimizable, and aligned with organizational or individual budgets.
Copyright © 2025, OvalEdge LLC, Peachtree Corners, GA USA
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