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Documentation Index

Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.usecustory.com/llms.txt

Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

Custory billing and usage are managed at the workspace level. That matters because smaller teams often share one operating workspace across product, support, and engineering. The people using AI, automations, and editor seats are drawing from the same workspace-level setup.

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What is managed at the workspace level

Workspace billing can include:
  • Base plan selection
  • Editor seat usage
  • Extra seat configuration where supported
  • Usage-based controls for credit-like features
  • Subscription management
Open Workspace settings -> Billing and Workspace settings -> Usage to manage these areas.

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Seats: who counts and who does not

In practice, seats map to people who can actively maintain the workspace. The most important distinction:
  • Owners and editors count as billable workspace members
  • Viewers do not
  • Custory AI does not
This is why role discipline matters. Giving edit access to people who only need visibility affects both workflow quality and billing.

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Extra editor seats

On plans that support it, Custory can handle extra editor seats beyond the included amount. Owners can configure extra member billing from the members area. Depending on plan setup, that may include:
  • Monthly extra-seat billing
  • Annual extra-seat billing
If your current setup does not support more editors yet, Custory prompts you to upgrade or finish extra-seat billing before you continue.

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Usage-based features

Custory tracks several workspace-level balances, including:
  • AI messages
  • Automation runs
  • Seats
  • Journeys
  • Personas
Not every balance behaves the same way.

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Consumable usage

These are the balances you “spend down” during the month:
  • AI messages
  • Automation runs
These are the most important credit-like features for most startup teams.

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Current-count usage

These reflect what currently exists in the workspace:
  • Seats
  • Journeys
  • Personas
They are not used like message credits. They show the current footprint of the workspace.

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AI messages

AI message usage covers in-product AI work where Custory is generating, analyzing, or drafting for you. That includes common workflows such as:
  • Drafting or refining journey content
  • Persona help
  • AI-assisted imports
  • AI assistance inside automation drafting
For smaller teams, AI messages are usually best spent on:
  • Converting messy source material into first drafts
  • Summarizing evidence quickly
  • Tightening wording and structure
  • Generating follow-up artifacts that would otherwise become manual cleanup

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Automation runs

Automation run usage tracks how often automations execute. That includes scheduled workflows and other automation-triggered work that actually runs, not just drafts saved in the builder. If your team starts experimenting heavily with automations, this is one of the first usage balances you should watch.

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Usage controls

Open Workspace settings -> Usage to see the current balances and controls for the workspace. Depending on your plan and configuration, owners can manage overage behavior for features such as:
  • AI messages
  • Automation runs
This is the right place to decide whether the workspace should:
  • Allow extra usage when the included amount is exhausted
  • Stay more tightly controlled
For small teams that want predictable costs, this page should be checked before you roll AI or automations out more broadly.

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How to keep usage efficient

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Be selective about where you use AI

Use AI on work that removes real friction:
  • First drafts
  • Large summaries
  • Repetitive restructuring
  • Drafting follow-up tasks or messages
Do not spend usage on prompts that could be answered with a quick manual edit.

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Keep automations narrow before scaling them

Start with one or two high-signal automations. Good early candidates:
  • Weekly journey pulse
  • Daily focus summary
  • GitHub merged PR refresh
Avoid creating many overlapping automations before the team knows which workflows are actually worth keeping.

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Keep editor access tight

Owners and editors are the roles that matter most for seat usage. Viewers are often enough for people who only need visibility.

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Clean up unused workspaces and drafts

If your team experiments often, review old workspaces, inactive journeys, and draft automations so the workspace footprint stays intentional.

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A practical setup for startups

For most founder-led teams:
  1. Keep one main workspace
  2. Give edit access only to the small team that maintains the map
  3. Turn on AI where it replaces real manual effort
  4. Add automations only after the base workflow is stable
  5. Review usage monthly, not only when something breaks

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Common mistakes

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Treating viewers like editors

If someone only needs visibility, Viewer is usually enough.

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Turning on too many automations too early

This increases run usage before the team knows what is actually valuable.

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Using AI for work that is already clear

Use AI where ambiguity or volume creates friction.

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Ignoring usage until the workspace is already dependent on it

Check usage before it becomes a surprise.