Message Packs, Monthly Allowances and BYOK: How Hosted AI Usage Works

Every InstantKnowledgeBot plan includes a monthly allowance of hosted AI messages, powered by Anthropic Claude. When that allowance is used up, message packs add extra hosted messages that never expire, and if you've connected your own AI key, it can keep your bot answering after that. Email alerts keep you informed along the way, and current prices always live on our pricing page.

This post explains how each piece works, the order your bot uses them in, and how to choose between buying a pack, upgrading or bringing your own key.

What are hosted messages?

Hosted messages are AI answers your chatbot generates using the AI we host for you. You don't need an account with any AI company. We handle the model, and you just upload your documents.

In plain terms, when a visitor asks your bot a question and it replies using our hosted Claude model, that reply draws from your hosted message balance. The bot answers only from the knowledge you uploaded, so every message is grounded in your own content.

How big is the monthly allowance on each plan?

As of 2026, the hosted AI allowances look like this:

Allowances can change over time, so treat the pricing page as the source of truth. Paid plans can be billed monthly or yearly, and yearly billing includes two months free.

What about the free trial?

When you create your first bot, a 14-day Pro trial starts automatically. No card is needed. It's a simple way to test Pro features like lead capture and full analytics before you pick a plan.

In what order does your bot use messages?

Think of your capacity as three layers. Your bot works through them in this order:

1. Your monthly hosted allowance. This is included with your plan and refreshes each month. It always goes first.
2. Message packs. Any pack balance you've bought is used only after the monthly allowance is spent.
3. Your own API key (the BYOK fallback). If you've connected a key, your bot can keep answering after hosted capacity runs out. Your AI provider bills you for that usage.

You don't need to switch anything manually. The order is the same every month.

Why does the monthly allowance go first?

Your monthly allowance refreshes, but pack messages never expire. Using the allowance first means you get full value from what's included in your plan.

Your pack balance then sits in reserve. It's there for the busy month, the big launch or the unexpected traffic spike.

How do message packs work?

A message pack is a one-time purchase of extra hosted messages. As of this writing, each pack adds 5,000 messages to your balance. For the current price, see the pricing page.

Packs run on the same hosted AI as your monthly allowance. Your visitors won't notice any difference when the bot switches from one to the other.

Do message packs expire?

No. Pack messages never expire. If you buy a pack during a busy month and only use part of it, the rest stays in your balance for future months.

That makes packs low risk. You're not racing a deadline to use what you paid for.

When do message packs make sense?

Message packs work best when your extra usage is occasional rather than constant. Common examples include:

• Seasonal spikes, like holiday sales for a store or enrollment season for an online course
• Launches and campaigns that send a burst of new visitors to your site
• A one-off busy month, such as a local event that fills a hotel or restaurant
• Testing a new page or bot before you know what steady traffic looks like

If you find yourself going over your allowance every single month, upgrading your plan is usually simpler. A higher plan also adds more bots, seats and features.

How does the BYOK fallback work?

Every plan, including Free, can connect its own API key. You can use Claude from Anthropic, ChatGPT from OpenAI, Gemini from Google or Grok from xAI.

With a key connected, messages that run on it are unlimited on our side. Your AI provider bills you directly based on its own pricing. Keys are encrypted at rest.

To get a key, you create an account with the provider and generate one in its console. The official docs walk you through it, for example the Anthropic documentation and the OpenAI platform docs. Our step-by-step guide on how to use your own AI API key covers the InstantKnowledgeBot side.

A few practical tips before you connect a key:

• Watch your provider's billing. Most AI providers let you monitor usage and set spending limits in their own dashboards.
• Keep the key private. Paste it only into your InstantKnowledgeBot settings, never into a public page or shared document.
• Know who owns it. Agencies should decide whether the agency or the client holds the provider account.

For a deeper look at the trade-offs, read bring your own key (BYOK) explained.

Is the BYOK fallback the same as the fallback message?

No, and the similar names can be confusing. The custom fallback message is what your bot says when the answer isn't in your uploaded knowledge. For example, it might point visitors to your phone number or contact form.

The BYOK fallback is about capacity. It's the layer that keeps your bot answering once hosted messages are used up. One is about content, the other is about usage.

What email alerts will you get?

We send email alerts to let you know when your hosted messages are running low and when your allowance has been used. The goal is simple: you should hear about it from us before your visitors notice anything.

When an alert arrives, you have a few options:

• Buy one of our message packs if this is a one-off busy period.
• Upgrade your plan if you've been running close to the limit for a while.
• Connect your own API key if you want a fallback that scales with demand.
• Do nothing if your monthly allowance is about to refresh and you have enough left.

Make sure the email address on your account goes to an inbox someone actually reads. Agencies managing client bots should agree on who watches these alerts.

What happens if all your hosted capacity runs out?

If your monthly allowance is used, you have no pack balance and no key is connected, your bot can't generate new hosted AI answers. That lasts until your next monthly allowance starts or you add capacity.

The fix takes a few minutes. Add a pack, upgrade, or connect a key, and your bot is back to answering. Because knowledge updates go live immediately, nothing about your content needs to be rebuilt.

This is exactly why the email alerts exist. Most owners never reach this point if they act on the first heads-up.

How can you make your hosted messages go further?

The best way to stretch your allowance is to help visitors get the right answer on the first try. Fewer rephrased questions means fewer messages used. Here's what helps:

• Check unanswered questions. Your analytics show what visitors asked that your documents didn't cover. Add those answers to your knowledge.
• Review top questions. Make sure your most common questions have clear, complete answers in your documents.
• Watch the satisfaction thumbs. A thumbs-down often points to an answer that needs better source material.
• Write a helpful fallback message. Point visitors to a phone number, email or booking link so they don't keep retrying.
• Clean up your documents. Clear headings and current information make answers sharper. Our guide on preparing documents for an AI chatbot covers the basics.

All of this improves the visitor experience too. Efficient usage and good answers go hand in hand.

Pack, upgrade or BYOK: which should you choose?

Each option solves a slightly different problem. This comparison can help:

Many businesses combine them. A plan covers normal months, a pack handles the busy season, and a connected key sits behind both as a safety net. If you want the bigger picture, see our explainer on AI chatbot pricing models.

Next steps

Here's a quick checklist to put this into practice:

1. Check your current plan and allowance on the pricing page.
2. Decide whether message packs, an upgrade or your own key fits your traffic pattern.
3. Make sure your account email is monitored so you catch usage alerts.
4. Review unanswered questions in your analytics and fill the gaps.

New to InstantKnowledgeBot? Create your free chatbot in minutes, with no card required. Have a question about usage or billing? Visit our FAQ or contact us. For more news like this, browse more Product Updates articles.