Factors to consider before pricing AI-enabled SaaS

In 2019, I wrote a station connected how companies should terms their AI-enabled software. I focused connected SaaS companies that were processing their ain AI and highlighted pricing considerations arsenic they enactment to amended their models.

Since then, there’s been a meteoric emergence of third-party foundational exemplary providers similar OpenAI, MosaicML and more. These “AI arsenic a service” vendors person enabled immoderate SaaS subordinate to integrate almighty AI into their application. This has created a huffy dash to sprinkle AI pixie particulate crossed the SaaS ecosystem. We’ve seen this among the countless recently minted startups and much established nationalist companies.

The proliferation of this exertion raises galore questions, including however to deploy it safely, who volition triumph (focused startups oregon incumbents with existing distribution?) and more. One important country that hasn’t yet been discussed much: however it should beryllium priced.

Below, I laic retired a moving model connected however to deliberation astir pricing the AI successful your SaaS application. The abstraction is evolving rapidly, truthful I’ll update this reasoning successful aboriginal posts.

How overmuch differentiated worth bash your AI features create?

By definition, these foundational models are accessible to each SaaS provider, truthful however should you deliberation astir pricing what is, successful effect, a commodity you’ve integrated into your product? Start with archetypal principles: How overmuch differentiated worth does this AI diagnostic create?

By integrating AI features into the travel of your broader platform, you are redeeming the idiosyncratic clip from having to permission their travel to spell to the underlying exemplary (ChatGPT, etc). Keeping the idiosyncratic successful discourse tin beryllium a almighty unlock.

However, beryllium honorable with yourself arsenic to however overmuch worth your AI is really creating. Many AI features successful SaaS contiguous are getting a flood of archetypal tyre kicks from funny users but aren’t seeing meaningful sustained adoption. Start by knowing retention and worth creation.

Then inquire yourself however differentiated your AI offerings are. If the bulk of the worth your AI diagnostic creates tin beryllium garnered by going straight to ChatGPT, don’t effort to marque a important borderline connected that feature. Reselling is not a sustainable worth instauration strategy (nor differentiation strategy, though that’s a taxable for different post).

Even if you aren’t capable to complaint overmuch for your AI features today, they tin make meaningful worth by making your existent merchandise much invaluable and possibly stickier. They tin besides beryllium utilized to thrust upsell to higher tiers, each of which tin effect successful accrued nett dollar retention.

Over time, you tin leverage archetypal features that whitethorn contiguous conscionable beryllium a bladed wrapper astir a 3rd enactment exemplary to physique much differentiated worth (more connected however below). When you get to that point, you tin see a much worth extractive pricing approach.

AI SaaS pricing is successful its aboriginal days