Outcome-based pricing
Also known as: results-based pricing, value-based pricing, per-resolution pricing
In traditional software, you pay for access. In outcome-based pricing, you pay for results. A customer support tool might charge per ticket resolved rather than per seat or per thousand tokens. A sales tool might charge per lead contacted. The vendor only earns when value is confirmed delivered.
This model aligns incentives tightly: vendors are motivated to make the AI actually work, not just to run more compute. It's especially appealing for enterprise buyers who want to tie vendor costs to business impact rather than technical consumption. Intercom's Fin AI, for example, moved to a per-resolution model and saw customer ROI clarity improve significantly.
The challenge is measurement. 'Resolved' or 'completed' can be fuzzy, and disputes over what counts as a successful outcome can become a friction point. Many companies land on a hybrid: a lighter base subscription for access, plus per-outcome charges that kick in above a threshold. That gives buyers predictability and vendors a share of upside as the AI improves.