One of the most common questions around agents in Search Atlas is how quota and credit consumption works when actions are triggered through AI.
This article clarifies an important update: agents are no longer quota-free. Following Search Atlas's metered spending rollout, agent-driven work now consumes credits, in addition to the quota consumed by the underlying product that performs the work.
🧠 Agents Are Orchestrators, and Now Metered Too
Agents in Search Atlas still act as orchestration layers: they interpret your request, identify the correct product to handle the task, and pass the instruction forward. Previously, agents themselves consumed no quota at all. That has changed: agent usage is now tracked and metered through a credit system, and requests can be blocked once your available credits are exhausted.
🛠️ Where Quota and Credits Are Consumed
Quota is still consumed inside the product that performs the action, the same way it would be if you initiated the action manually from the platform. For example, if you ask an agent to generate an article, it is processed by Content Genius and Content quota is consumed there. In addition, the agent layer itself now consumes credits for the work it coordinates and the AI processing involved.
📊 What This Means for You
Actions triggered through an agent are no longer guaranteed to behave identically, from a cost perspective, to the same action triggered directly from the dashboard, because agent-triggered work now also draws on your credit balance. If your credits run low, agent requests may be paused until your balance is available again.
✅ Key Takeaway
- Products still consume their own quota for the work they perform
- Agents now also consume credits for the coordination and AI processing they perform
- Credit balances are tracked and enforced, so requests can be paused if credits run out
If you have questions about your specific credit balance or a product's quota, refer to the relevant product documentation or your billing settings.
If you need further assistance, open the chat widget in the bottom-right corner of the platform and type human teammate to be connected with a member of our team.