On this page
Key takeaways
- Every question your team asks is one AI run, so usage is simple to understand and easy to plan for.
- A single usage page shows runs this month, daily activity and recent questions, so owners always know where they stand.
- With your own AI key you pay your provider directly, with no markup, and you set the spending limit yourself. See the bring-your-own-key guide for the full picture.
- Signing up from the playground adds bonus runs that are kept as headroom for your busiest months.
Why AI costs surprise teams
Many analytics tools bundle AI into an add-on with a vague allowance and a bill that only makes sense at the end of the month. Teams either ration their questions or get a nasty surprise. DashboardGPT takes a different approach: clear usage you can check any day, and AI costs that go straight to the provider you chose.
| What you track | What it means | Why it helps |
|---|---|---|
| AI runs | One run for each question your team asks | Shows how much of your plan's monthly allowance is used |
| Tokens | How much text the AI reads and writes for each answer | Lines up with what your AI provider bills you, when you bring your own key |
Usage at a glance
Owners and administrators get a dedicated AI Usage page in the workspace. Everyone else just gets on with asking questions; billing figures stay with the people who manage the budget.
- This month so far. Runs and tokens used, with a progress bar against your plan's allowance.
- Daily activity. A simple chart of the last 30 days, so you can see when the team leaned on AI, such as a launch or a month-end review.
- Recent questions. What was asked, when, and how much AI it used, so you can spot the questions worth sharpening.
Clear, specific questions get better answers and use less AI. A question that names the metric, the breakdown and the time period is the sweet spot.
Your key, your bill
Connect a key from a provider such as OpenAI or Anthropic and the AI cost is billed by them, at their rates, with no markup from us. The only price that matters is the one on your provider's invoice, and you stay in control of it. If you do not have a key yet, getting one takes a few minutes.
- Set a monthly budget with your provider, so spend never runs past a figure you chose.
- Turn on alerts at points such as half and most of that budget.
- Keep a dedicated key for analytics so your provider reports this spend on its own.
Want the reasoning behind it? Read why your analytics tool shouldn't mark up AI, and compare plans on the pricing page.
Bonus runs when you sign up
Try DashboardGPT in the playground, then sign up from there and your organisation gets bonus AI runs on top of its plan. They work as a safety net:
- Your plan's monthly allowance is always used first.
- Bonus runs only kick in once that allowance is spent, so a busy month does not stop the team.
- They do not expire at the end of the month, so they are there when you need them.
Bonus runs are never spent on questions your plan already covers. They are headroom for your busiest weeks, not a head start that vanishes in week one.
Ready to claim yours? Create your account and start asking questions of your own data.
A five-minute monthly check-in
- Open AI Usage and see how much of the month's allowance the team has used.
- Glance at daily activity and match any busy days to what the team was working on.
- Skim recent questions for ones that could be asked more clearly.
- Compare with your AI provider's usage page.
- Adjust your provider budget, or move up a plan, if the team is asking more than expected.