What is billed
AI agents bill $1.50 per automated resolution on a committed volume, or $2.00 pay-as-you-go, on top of seats. The unit is an automated resolution: a conversation the AI agent closes without a person. Each plan includes a small allowance: 5 automated resolutions per agent a month on the Team plans, 10 on Suite Professional. Past that, every resolution is billed.
What that looks like past the allowance, AI fees only, seats not included:
| Resolutions / month | Committed | Pay-as-you-go |
|---|---|---|
| 200 | $300 | $400 |
| 500 | $750 | $1,000 |
| 1,500 | $2,250 | $3,000 |
| 3,000 | $4,500 | $6,000 |
Committed is cheaper per resolution, but you are buying a volume up front. Guess low and the overage runs at the pay-as-you-go rate; guess high and you have paid for resolutions that never happened. The agent-side assistant, Copilot, is a separate add-on at $50 per agent a month on Professional and up.
What Zendesk does well
- Zendesk only bills an automated resolution when the AI actually resolves the request without escalating to a human.
- Support Team starts at $19/agent/mo. Cheaper per seat than Kerux's entry plan if you don't need the AI.
- It's the most established platform in the category, with an app marketplace and integration depth no small tool matches.
Three ways to keep the bill flat
- Commit low and watch it. Buy a small committed block and review usage monthly. Cheapest per resolution, but someone owns the forecast.
- Keep the AI agent off and use Zendesk for routing. No per-resolution line at all. Your team answers the routine tickets by hand.
- Run the AI on your own key. The model behind an answer costs cents from any major provider (the arithmetic is here). A helpdesk built that way charges per agent and nothing per answer. That is Kerux: the bill moves when you hire, not when the AI does its job.
Want your own number? The calculator puts your volume next to each vendor's published rate.
Zendesk figures from zendesk.com/pricing, verified 2026-10-13.