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At the heart of Nevermined are two fundamental concepts: AI Agents and Payment Plans. Understanding how they work together is key to monetizing your AI services.

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What is an AI Agent?

In the Nevermined ecosystem, an AI Agent is any digital service or tool that you want to monetize. It’s more than just a model; it’s a complete service that can:
  • Make and receive digital payments in both crypto and fiat.
  • Expose its functionalities through HTTP API endpoints.
  • Be discovered and accessed by subscribers through flexible payment plans.
  • Validate access using bearer token authentication.
  • Track usage with automatic credit redemption.
Nevermined provides the tools to wrap your existing AI service—whether it’s a single model, a complex workflow, or a multi-agent system—and turn it into a monetizable product without needing to build a billing system from scratch.

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Agent Components

Metadata

Name, description, tags, and creation date for discovery.

API Endpoints

HTTP endpoints that define how to interact with your agent.

Payment Plans

One or more plans that define pricing and access terms.

Access Control

Token-based authentication through Nevermined Proxy or direct validation.

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What is a Payment Plan?

A Payment Plan is a set of rules and conditions that define how subscribers pay to access your AI Agent. Plans are highly flexible and are defined by two main components: their price and the consumption model.

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Key Attributes of a Payment Plan:

Payment Type

Choose whether to charge in Crypto (any ERC-20 token or native coin) or Fiat (via Stripe integration).

Price Configuration

Set the total price for the plan and define how the revenue is distributed among one or more receivers. Supports multi-receiver splits.

Plan Types

  • Time-based: Limited by duration (e.g., 30 days, 1 year)
  • Credits-based: Limited by usage (e.g., 100 queries)
  • Trial: Free limited access for testing

Credit System

Define how many credits a subscriber receives upon purchase and how many are consumed per request. Supports:
  • Fixed credits per request
  • Dynamic consumption based on query complexity
  • Minimum/maximum thresholds for redemption

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Plan Configuration Types

Perfect for usage-based pricing models:
  • Fixed Credits: Set amount of credits (e.g., 100 credits)
  • Credits per Request: How many credits each query consumes
  • Flexible Redemption: Redeem different amounts based on usage
Ideal for subscription models:
  • Duration: Set expiration time (days, months, years)
  • Unlimited Usage: Within the time period
  • Auto-expiry: Plan expires after duration
Combine time and credits:
  • Credits with Expiry: E.g., 1000 credits valid for 30 days
  • Rate Limiting: Control usage within time periods

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Example Payment Plans

  • AI Travel Advisor: Offer a “Regular” plan for 100/monthora"Premium"planfor100/month or a "Premium" plan for 900/year.
  • Code Copilot: A usage-based plan costing 10 USDC for 100 credits, with each request consuming 1 credit.
  • Legal Assistant: A tiered model with a “Silver” plan (100 xDAI for 500 credits, 5-25 credits per query) and a “Gold” plan (1 ETH for unlimited credits for a year).

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How It All Works Together

1

Agent Registration

Builders register their AI agents with metadata and API endpoints, defining how the service can be accessed.
2

Plan Creation

Builders create one or more payment plans, setting prices, credit amounts, and consumption rules.
3

Subscriber Purchase

Users discover agents and purchase plans using crypto or fiat payments.
4

Access Token Generation

Upon purchase, subscribers receive bearer tokens for authenticated access.
5

Query & Validation

When querying an agent, the Nevermined Proxy validates the token and checks credit balance.
6

Automatic Billing

Credits are automatically deducted based on usage, with proof of consumption tracked on-chain.
By combining AI Agents with flexible Payment Plans, Nevermined empowers you to create sophisticated and scalable business models for your AI services.