Operator is included with your Pro plan and comes with 2,000 free credits each month. Credits measure everything Operator does, analyzing data, debugging Fin, authoring procedures, and improving your content and guidance. If you use more than 2,000 credits in a month, additional usage is charged on a pay-as-you-go basis at $0.01 per credit.
This article is for Pro plan customers who want to understand their Operator credit allocation, manage usage limits, and control pay-as-you-go spend.
What's included
Pro plans include 2,000 free Operator credits per month. Usage above 2,000 credits is charged on a pay-as-you-go basis at $0.01 per credit.
Credits reset at the start of each month and don't carry over.
Contracted Pro plans include a credit allocation based on your contracted conversation volume, go to Settings > Subscription > Billing to see your exact monthly inclusion.
Credits apply to Operator only — they can't be used for other Intercom products.
Note: To use Operator, you need an active Pro plan. If you're on a legacy plan, contact your account team or go to Settings > Subscription > Billing to upgrade.
Viewing your Operator credit usage
To view your Operator credit usage, go to Settings > Subscription > Usage.
From here, find the Credits section and click Set usage alerts and limits to open the usage management panel.
From here you can see your current credits usage breakdown.
The usage bar shows credits used this billing period, prepaid usage remaining, and your current limits. Scroll down to the Teammate usage table to see a breakdown by individual teammate, teammate's chats, credits used, and Operator access status.
Operator credit alerts and limits
Set an alert
Operator credit alerts send email notifications to your billing contacts when usage hits 50%, 80%, and 100% of your set amount.
Click Set usage alerts and limits.
Open the Credits tab.
Check the Alerts box and enter a credit threshold.
Click Save — billing contacts are notified by email when usage hits 50%, 80%, and 100% of this amount.
Set a limit
Limits set a spending cap on credits — independent of how many credits are available in your pool. When the limit is reached, Operator turns off immediately, even if your workspace still has credits remaining. You'll see an "Operator is turned off" message in-product.
Click Set usage alerts and limits.
Open the Credits tab.
Check the Limit box and enter a maximum credit amount.
A Confirm limits dialog appears, warning that once the limit is hit, Operator will be disabled for all teammates. Click Confirm changes to apply.
Note: Your default credit limit is set to 2,000 — equal to your monthly inclusion. Remove or increase it to allow pay-as-you-go usage above that. Changes to alerts and limits take effect within the next hour.
Tip: Use alerts to get notified before you reach your limit, Operator keeps running. Use a limit for hard spend control, Operator stops automatically when the limit is reached. You can set both.
What happens when credits run out?
By default, Operator stops when your workspace hits 2,000 credits. To continue using Operator beyond that, you need to explicitly opt in to pay-as-you-go.
Default: Operator stops at 2,000 credits
Your credit limit is set to 2,000 by default — equal to your monthly inclusion. When your workspace hits that limit, Operator turns off. You'll see a "Limit reached" badge on your credits dashboard and a "Your workspace has reached its usage limit" banner in Operator.
To resume Operator, increase or remove your limit:
Click Set usage alerts and limits.
Open the Credits tab.
Increase your credit limit.
Click Save — Operator resumes immediately.
Note: Removing your limit opts your workspace into pay-as-you-go — any usage above 2,000 credits will be charged at $0.01 per credit.
Opting in to pay-as-you-go
If you want Operator to keep running beyond your 2,000-credit inclusion, opt in by removing or raising your credit limit. Once opted in, any usage above 2,000 credits is charged at $0.01 per credit and billed as a separate line item at the end of your billing period.
For example, if your workspace uses 2,408 credits in a billing period:
Prepaid (included) usage: 2,000 credits
Additional (pay-as-you-go) usage: 408 credits at $0.01 each = $4.08
Operator permissions
Operator access is on by default for all teammates — both full seats and Lite seats (limited-permission accounts).
To change access, go to Settings > Workspace > Teammates, select a teammate, and check or uncheck Can access Fin Operator under the Operator section. The change takes effect immediately.
You can't change your own Operator access — ask a teammate to enable it for you.
If you cancel Pro, Operator access is removed regardless of any remaining credit balance.
FAQs
What are Operator credits?
What are Operator credits?
Operator credits measure your monthly Operator usage. Every action Operator takes — analyzing support data, debugging Fin, authoring procedures, and improving content and guidance — costs credits. Lightweight tasks like quick questions use fewer credits; building or testing a procedure uses significantly more. Pro plans include 2,000 free Operator credits per month, with additional usage charged at $0.01 per credit.
What happens when I run out of Operator credits?
What happens when I run out of Operator credits?
By default, Operator stops automatically when your workspace hits 2,000 credits — overages don't apply unless you opt in. To continue using Operator, go to Settings > Subscription > Usage, click Set usage alerts and limits, open the Credits tab, increase or remove your credit limit, and click Save. Any usage above 2,000 credits is charged at $0.01 per credit.
Do Operator credits carry over each month?
Do Operator credits carry over each month?
No. Operator credits reset at the start of each monthly billing period. Unused credits expire and can't be rolled over or transferred to the following month.
Is Operator included in my Pro plan?
Is Operator included in my Pro plan?
Yes — Pro plans include 2,000 Operator credits per month at no extra subscription fee. Usage above 2,000 credits is charged at $0.01 per credit. There's no unlimited access; Operator stops by default when you hit your 2,000-credit limit unless you opt in to pay-as-you-go.
How many credits does each Operator action use?
How many credits does each Operator action use?
The number of credits an action uses reflects the complexity of the work. Lightweight tasks like quick questions use fewer credits; building and testing procedures uses significantly more. An action costs the same number of credits regardless of which Pro plan you're on.
Here are some example prompts and their typical credit cost:
Prompt | Credits used (median) |
Simple queries |
|
Draft customer communications | 35 |
Diagnose why Fin answered incorrectly | 125 |
Explain what happened in a conversation | 100 |
Complex queries |
|
Audit content or guidance for gaps or conflicts | 400 |
Author or edit a procedure or automation | 300 |
Fix Fin's answer after diagnosing a conversation | 300 |
Build or explain a report or dashboard | 300 |
Set up or review a QA monitor or scorecard | 200 |
Can I get more than 2,000 Operator credits per month?
Can I get more than 2,000 Operator credits per month?
Yes. If you need more than your 2,000 monthly credits, opt in to pay-as-you-go by removing or increasing your credit limit. Go to Settings > Subscription > Usage, click Set usage alerts and limits, open the Credits tab, remove or increase your limit, and click Save. Any usage above 2,000 credits is charged at $0.01 per credit, billed as a separate line item at the end of your billing period.
I’m on a contracted Pro plan — how does my Operator credit allocation work?
I’m on a contracted Pro plan — how does my Operator credit allocation work?
On a contracted Pro plan, your monthly Operator credit allocation is based on your committed conversation volume — not a flat 2,000 credits. Your inclusion scales with your contracted tier, so the higher your committed volume, the more credits are included each month. To see your exact monthly credit allocation, go to Settings > Subscription > Billing. For further questions about your credit allocation or to adjust your contracted volume, contact your account team.
What’s the difference in Operator credits between a monthly and contracted Pro plan?
What’s the difference in Operator credits between a monthly and contracted Pro plan?
On a monthly Pro plan, you receive a flat 2,000 free Operator credits per month, with any additional usage charged at $0.01 per credit. On a contracted Pro plan, your monthly credit allocation scales with your committed conversation volume — the higher your contracted tier, the more credits are included before pay-as-you-go charges apply. If you’re unsure which plan type you’re on, check Settings > Subscription > Billing or contact your account team.
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