The free-AI honeymoon is ending. Through 2025–2026, SaaS tools quietly moved AI behind credits, higher tiers and usage-based billing — an "AI tax" on software you already pay for. This tracks who changed what, and when.
When generative AI features launched, many were bundled in. In 2026 the model is shifting: AI is increasingly metered (credits), gated to a higher plan, or moved to usage-based billing. For buyers, the headline subscription no longer covers the AI you may have started relying on. This page compiles the dated changes.
| Tool | Change | Model now |
|---|---|---|
| Notion | Separate Notion AI add-on removed (May 2025) | Full AI now requires the Business plan (bundled up-tier) |
| GitHub Copilot | All plans transition to usage-based billing (GitHub AI Credits) on Jun 1, 2026 | Usage-based (credits) |
| monday.com | From May 6, 2026, AI credits must be purchased alongside seats (~$0.01/credit annual) | Per-seat + metered credits |
| ClickUp | ClickUp Brain ~$9/user/mo; Everything AI ~$28/user/mo | Paid add-on, metered on AI credits |
| Close (CRM) | AI Call Assistant add-on ~$50/mo + ~$0.02/min transcribed | Add-on + usage |
| Zoho CRM | Zia AI gated to Enterprise+ tiers | Higher-tier gate |
| Zoho Analytics | Zia NL querying on all plans, but Ask Zia AI Agent is Enterprise-only | Split (basic free, agent gated) |
| Metabase | Metabot AI is a 2026 add-on from ~$100/mo for 500 requests | Paid add-on, metered |
| Looker | Gemini Data Token allowances free within fair use until Sep 30, 2026, then ~$3/1M input, ~$20/1M output | Free-until-date, then usage-based |
| Canva | Pro includes 500 monthly AI credits shared across Magic tools | Bundled credit pool (capped) |
| Webflow | Every Workspace plan includes a monthly AI credit pool | Bundled credit pool (capped) |
| Make | Most actions consume 1 credit; AI-provider actions can cost more | Metered (AI costs extra credits) |
| Domo | Domo AI free within contract; Domo AI Pro priced by consumption | Split (basic bundled, Pro usage-based) |
| Tool | Bundled AI |
|---|---|
| Dialpad | AI transcription + call summaries on all tiers, including Standard |
| Pipedrive | AI Sales Assistant included on all paid tiers |
| Freshsales | Freddy AI expanded 2026 (generative email, auto-enrichment) within tiers |
| Bitdefender | Photon AI scanning included (security, not a chargeable add-on) |
Dated AI-pricing changes were compiled from our sourced 2026 category studies (productivity, CRM, BI, design, no-code, dev tools). "Metered" means billed by credits/usage; "gated" means moved to a higher tier; "bundled" means included within the plan. Figures and dates are as published at compile time; some (e.g. "free until Sep 30, 2026") are explicit vendor windows. This is a pricing-trend snapshot, not a feature ranking.