Understanding Interactions
The complete reference for how HelpJet meters usage — what counts as an interaction, what never does, what happens when you run out, and when your allowance resets.
On this page
- The definition
- What counts and what doesn't
- Allowance and credits
- When you run out
- What a stopped bot looks like
- Usage alerts
- When allowances reset
- Watching your usage
- Common questions
- A visitor sent 10 messages and the bot replied 10 times — how many interactions?
- Does testing my bot count?
- Do long conversations cost more than short ones?
- Can I see which bot is using the most?
- I was charged nothing but my bot stopped — why?
Interactions are the unit HelpJet meters and bills on. This is the complete reference: what counts, what doesn't, how your allowance and credits are consumed, and exactly what happens when the pool runs dry.
The definition
One interaction = one billable bot reply.
Two things count:
- A bot's response to a user message — on the widget, page embed, chat link, or dashboard chat.
- Each suggestion generated by Help Scout Assist.
Both draw from the same pool. Your organization holds a single shared allowance across all its bots — a Pro organization with three bots manages one number, not three.
What counts and what doesn't
Event | Billed? |
|---|---|
Bot reply to a visitor's message | Yes |
Help Scout Assist suggestion | Yes |
Message the visitor types | No |
Bot's greeting / welcome message | No |
Turn blocked by security screening | No |
Reply that failed with an error | No |
Duplicate of an already-counted turn | No |
The short version: you're billed when the AI successfully produces an answer, and never for anything else. Visitors opening the widget, reading the greeting, or typing costs nothing until the bot actually replies.
Allowance and credits
Your pool has two layers, consumed in a fixed order:
- Monthly allowance — 100 interactions on Free, 1,000 on Pro (see Plans & Pricing). Resets each billing period; unused allowance doesn't roll over.
- Credit balance — prepaid interactions from credit packs ($30 per 1,000, Pro only). Credits never expire and carry across billing periods.
The allowance is always burned first. Because credits are only touched after the resetting allowance is gone, you never lose credits you paid for at month-end.
When you run out
Once the allowance and any credits are exhausted:
- Free organizations stop. Bots stop replying until the next reset or an upgrade. This is a hard stop — Free has no card on file, so there's never a surprise charge.
- Pro organizations keep going if auto-recharge is on. A $30 credit pack (1,000 interactions) is purchased automatically, up to your monthly spend cap. If auto-recharge is off, or the cap is reached, the bot stops the same way it does on Free. See Add-ons, Credits & White-labeling.
What a stopped bot looks like
- Visitors see a generic message: "Sorry, this assistant is currently unavailable. Please try again later." Nothing about your billing is ever shown to end users — the widget, page embed, and chat link all show the same unavailable message.
- Your dashboard shows a red banner with an Upgrade plan button (admins only), and affected bot cards show a "Monthly limit reached" indicator.
A stopped bot resumes automatically the moment interactions are available again — at the period reset, after buying credits, or after upgrading. Nothing needs redeploying.
Usage alerts
You won't hit the wall unwarned:
- Email alerts go to organization admins when usage crosses 75%, 90%, and 100% of the monthly allowance — once per threshold per billing period.
- In-app banner appears on the dashboard and Usage page from 75% onward (amber), turning red if the bot actually stops.
When allowances reset
The monthly allowance resets on your organization's billing anchor date — the day of the month you signed up or renewed — so usage and billing always run on the same clock. The reset date is shown on your Usage page under Current billing period.
At reset: the allowance returns to full, usage counters return to zero, and any credit balance carries forward untouched.
Watching your usage
Open Usage in the sidebar for the live picture: the current billing period, total interactions used against your allowance, splits for customer chats and Help Scout Assist, and a By bot table showing each bot's share of the shared pool. Full walkthrough: Tracking Your Usage.
Common questions
A visitor sent 10 messages and the bot replied 10 times — how many interactions?
Ten. Each bot reply is one interaction; the visitor's messages themselves are free.
Does testing my bot count?
Yes. Replies in the dashboard preview and Train & Test mode are billable interactions, recorded as customer chats. The one concession: the quota gate doesn't apply to dashboard testing, so you can keep testing after your allowance is exhausted — the usage is still recorded. Free-plan users close to the limit should test with that in mind.
Do long conversations cost more than short ones?
No. An interaction is one reply, regardless of how long the question or answer is.
Can I see which bot is using the most?
Yes — the By bot table on the Usage page breaks out billable interactions per bot for the current period.
I was charged nothing but my bot stopped — why?
That's by design. Free organizations (and Pro organizations at their spend cap, or with auto-recharge off) stop rather than charge. Upgrade or buy credits to resume.
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