"Anyone who is online will be able to have a personal assistant powered by artificial intelligence that is far beyond today’s technology." - Bill Gates, Microsoft
Moving beyond traditional labor models
The rise of AI agents has disrupted traditional technology pricing. For years, firms billed clients for human hours. Now, companies must value a hybrid workforce where software and people work together to complete tasks as digital labor becomes the new standard.
Digital labor and token consumption
Tech Mahindra and Forrester recently proposed a pricing model focused on digital labor. This framework distinguishes between human effort and tasks performed by ai, which are often measured through token consumption. By tracking tokens, firms can charge for computational power.
Transparency for the enterprise client
New pricing models offer transparency by clearly separating human costs from digital ones. Technology providers may apply a mark up on third party models while explaining the digital effort. This ensures clients understand their automated environment costs without encountering any hidden fees.
Outcome driven pricing and margins
Infosys leadership suggests that value created will soon drive billings instead of headcount. As AI agents become more autonomous, pricing will focus on delivering specific business results. This evolution allows quality to determine revenue, which helps firms maintain margins as human labor decreases.
Hybrid approaches in large deals
Most large contracts currently use a blended or hybrid approach. In these scenarios, humans and agents are priced separately or at a combined team rate. Experts from Everest Group note that multiple models often coexist within one client as the enterprise ai market matures.
Summary
Technology firms are adopting new pricing for AI agents. By using token metrics and outcome driven strategies, companies balance human expertise with digital efficiency while ensuring billing transparency for enterprise clients as the industry moves toward an automated future.
Food for thought
Will the automation of routine tasks eventually make the hourly rate obsolete in the global technology services industry?
AI concept to learn: AI agents
AI agents are autonomous programs that perform tasks and make decisions within a workflow to achieve specific goals. They mimic human interactions with enterprise systems to improve productivity and allow companies to scale operations without increasing their human headcount.
[The Billion Hopes Research Team shares the latest AI updates for learning and awareness. Various sources are used. All copyrights acknowledged. This is not a professional, financial, personal or medical advice. Please consult domain experts before making decisions. Feedback welcome!]
