How Flexi Credits work
Understand how Atlan Flexi Credits work: what uses them, how the pool works, when they expire, and how conversational AI, AI enrichment, and MCP tools are charged.
Flexi Credits are the one unit currency for Atlan's AI. You spend them when Atlan's AI does the work, such as a context agent writing descriptions for your assets or conversational AI answering a question. One pool of Flexi Credits covers them all.
What uses Flexi Credits
Flexi Credits cover two kinds of AI work:
- Creating context: Atlan's context agents write descriptions, READMEs, SQL Intelligence, metrics, and glossary terms, turning a raw estate into something people and agents can use.
- Using context: Atlan's AI helps people and agents get to trusted answers, through conversational AI in Atlan, Slack, or Microsoft Teams.
For what each action costs, see the Flexi Credits rate card. Rates can change from time to time, and the current rate card is always published.
MCP tools
Atlan's MCP server lets your own agents and AI tools work with Atlan context. Its tools come in two kinds:
- Essential MCP tools read metadata, such as lineage or asset details, and write your own content into Atlan. They never use Flexi Credits. Your agent does the reasoning, and Atlan just returns or stores context.
- Advanced MCP tools use Atlan's own AI. Examples are
semantic_search, which runs a Quick answer,ask_ai, which runs a Deep answer, and tools that trigger context agents to enrich assets. Each costs the same as the Atlan capability it calls.
Advanced tools stay off, and use no Flexi Credits, until an admin turns them on in Labs.
Flexi Credits pool
Your organization shares one pool of Flexi Credits:
- Everyone draws from the same pool, including Guests. Guest seats are free, but when a Guest asks conversational AI a question, the answer uses Flexi Credits from the pool.
- Each tenant has its own balance. Development and production tenants don't share Flexi Credits. Your order form says which tenant a purchase is for.
- Flexi Credits are separate from your asset entitlement. Your entitlement covers how many assets you can catalog and govern. Enriching those assets with AI uses Flexi Credits on top.
Where Flexi Credits come from
- Onboarding Flexi Credits: For new customers only. They're available from signing, expire 3 months later, and don't renew.
- Flexi Credit packs: The packs on your order form. They're available from your contract start date and renew in full at the start of each contract year.
Contract years
Flexi Credits run per contract year:
- Unused Flexi Credits don't roll over. Whatever is left at the end of a contract year doesn't carry into the next one.
- You can add Flexi Credits at any time. Packs bought partway through a contract run until the end of the current contract year. A top-up shortly before your contract anniversary can be prorated to the time left.
- Multi-year contracts reset each year. The packs on your order form renew in full at the start of each contract year.
How conversational AI is charged
Conversational AI charges per answer. Each question and its answer count as one answer, and a follow-up question counts as a new answer. You choose one of three modes before you ask:
- Quick: Retrieves and compiles an answer in one shot, with no agent reasoning.
- Deep: The agent reasons through the question, pulling and connecting the context it needs, however many steps it takes.
- Adaptive: Atlan picks Quick or Deep for each question, tuned to answer efficiently, and charges for the mode that runs.
Deep is the default, and your choice carries across conversations until you change it. See Response modes for when to use each, and the Flexi Credits rate card for what each mode costs.
If an answer also does work, such as writing descriptions, that work is charged at its own rate on top of the answer. Modes and rates are the same in Atlan, Slack, and Microsoft Teams.
How AI enrichment is charged
Context agents charge for each asset or object they enrich, at the rate for the type of context they write:
- You pay only for assets that get enriched. If an asset already has the target attribute, or the agent has nothing to write for it, there's no charge.
- You decide when enrichment runs. Enrichment never re-runs on its own. It runs when someone starts it, or on a schedule, against a scope you choose.
Track and control Flexi Credit usage
- Reporting: See Flexi Credits used by capability, user, and agent in the Reporting center.
- Advanced MCP tools: Admins decide whether advanced MCP tools are on, in Labs.
- Enrichment: Context agents run only when someone starts them or on a schedule, so enrichment spend follows the runs you choose.
- Alerts (coming soon): Notify admins as usage approaches your balance.
- Limits (coming soon): Let admins set how many Flexi Credits a user, group, or persona can use, and how many each context agent can use.
- Failed work isn't charged: A failed run isn't charged, and a retried action is never charged twice. If an issue on Atlan's side uses Flexi Credits, they're credited back automatically.
When Flexi Credits run out
If usage goes past your balance:
- You have a 20% grace beyond your balance.
- Past that, your CSM reaches out, and Atlan sends written notice.
- You then have 30 days to top up at your contracted rate.
- Usage still not covered after those 30 days is billed at the on-demand rates current at that time.
Why reported usage can lag
Flexi Credit usage is calculated from the enrichment activity recorded against your assets, not deducted the moment a run starts. Right after a large run, the figures can trail the work already done. They settle as the activity is recorded.
If your usage still looks wrong after a run has fully completed, contact support with the run details.
Adding Flexi Credits
To add Flexi Credits, or for questions about your balance, contact your CSM.