Core Principles of Generative Pricing

Responsive: Prices adapt in real time to changes in product configuration. As generative AI applications are often composable and can be tailored instantly to user needs, pricing must keep pace, adjusting dynamically as features are added or removed.

Explainable: Transparency is central. Customers must be able to understand how prices are determined and why they change. This builds trust and helps users make informed decisions about their configurations.

Value-Based: Prices are set to reflect the actual economic value delivered to the customer, such as cost savings, efficiency gains, or revenue growth, rather than just usage or input/output metrics.

The Generative Pricing Cycle

• Independent Agents - these agents do not rely on any external application or data and can be used without integration into other applications.
  The Price is based on the value provided
  

• Replacement Agents - enable new functionality or replace a key piece of functionality in an existing application, but require access to the underlying application.
  The price is based on the increased value relative to the legacy app.
  

• Complementing Agents - make it easier to access or enhance some existing functionality.
  Use the same pricing metrics as the underlying app.
  

• Embedded Agents - added inside the app as enhanced functionality.
  Increase the price of the underlying app based on the additional value created.

Agent Pricing Decision Tree

1. Decide which of the four agent patterns fits. Your approach to pricing will depend on the pattern.

2. For an independent agent, begin by understanding the job that your agent does. That will inform how you price.

The Four Layers of the Agent Pricing Layer Cake

The  Ibbaka Agent Pricing Layer Cake helps organize the different possible pricing metrics.

1. Role Layer: Job to be Done or Agent Type

• Focuses on the core job or function the agent performs.

• Pricing can be based on:

• Type of agent (e.g., research assistant, customer service bot)

• Level of specialization (basic, advanced, expert)

• Industry application (e.g., healthcare, finance)

• Feature/capability tiers

• Sets baseline value and often underpins tiered pricing models.
  

2. Access Layer: Assured Access or Retainers

• Charges for guaranteed access, reservation, or expense management.

• Common for agents whose availability or response guarantees are critical.

• May involve flat-rate retainers or minimum monthly commitments.
  

3. Usage Layer: How Often the Agent is Used

• Reflects actual agent activity, often measured by:

• Agent hours

• Number of actions performed

• Runs or workflows executed

• Aligns price with consumption, balancing predictability and flexibility.
  

4. Outcome Layer: Results and Value Delivered

• Pricing reflects the business outcomes achieved, such as:

• Revenue generated or influenced

• Cost savings

• Productivity increases

• Customer satisfaction improvement

• Success rates or achievement of specific KPIs

• Directly aligns cost to delivered value, but often requires robust measurement systems.

Why Use the Layer Cake Framework?

• Balances Complexity and Effectiveness: Selects metrics tailored to customer value and willingness to pay.

• Enables Hybrid Pricing: Companies often combine layers (e.g., Role + Usage or Access + Outcome) to maximize value capture and customer fit.

• Facilitates Value-Based Pricing: Aligns pricing more closely to the impact agents have on customers, supporting flexible and scalable models.

• Maintains Value > Price > Cost Principle: Ensures that customers receive net value, companies retain margin, and both can succeed as the agent economy matures.

This framework is a best practice for organizations designing pricing for advanced AI agents, helping them craft clear, predictable, and value-driven offerings in a rapidly evolving space.

Combinations for Hybrid Pricing

The impact of vibe coding

Vibe coding uses prompt-driven interfaces to Large Language Models, enabling users to build apps and agents by simply describing what they want in natural language. Tools like Lovable, Replit, and Bolt are making software creation accessible, accelerating innovation and allowing more people to generate value through custom solutions.

How Vibe Coding Is Changing Pricing

• Pricing can be embedded in the app: Developers can now build dynamic pricing directly into AI-driven applications, allowing for value-based and adaptive pricing aligned with user needs. (Ibbaka can show you how to do this)

• Lower barriers drive focus on value: As development costs fall, success depends more on offering differentiated value, which influences both how products are positioned and priced.

• Enabling Continuous Innovation: As developers and businesses iterate quickly using vibe coding, pricing needs to keep pace—becoming more flexible, responsive, and aligned with rapidly evolving customer needs and industry standards.

Vibe coding isn’t just a new way to build apps—it’s reshaping how value is created and captured in the software economy.

1. Generate a value model

2. Validate with interviews and synthetic data

3. Derive a pricing model

4. Embed pricing in the application or agent so that the value and pricing models receive connected data

5. Evolve the pricing based on the data gathered