Oracle plans to charge for AI tasks, not just software seats

Oracle plans to add usage-based charges for AI tasks completed inside its applications, on top of subscriptions, The Register reports. The shift could make the work done by AI agents a new source of revenue, even when those agents reduce the need for extra user seats.

Oracle Watch analysis

What happened

Oracle executives outlined the proposed approach at the company’s investor day, according to The Register. Customers would pay for each AI task completed within Oracle applications, alongside the existing subscription model.

The report says Oracle also discussed heavy data-centre spending, plans to raise debt and using AI to speed up on-premises customer migrations to the cloud. It does not give task prices or explain how the proposed charges would be measured.

Why it matters

Seat-based software pricing ties revenue to how many people use a product. Charging for AI tasks would add a different meter: the more work an agent does, the more potential revenue Oracle could collect, even if that agent means a company needs fewer seats.

For customers, that makes the details important. A per-task model could connect cost more closely to use, but without prices and clear definitions of a billable task, it is hard to know whether it would make AI cheaper, more expensive, or simply easier to count.

Our read

This is a meaningful pricing direction, not a finished price list. Oracle’s proposal points to the question software companies will have to answer as agents do more work: do customers pay for access, for activity, or both? The answer may determine whether AI automation trims a software bill or gives it a new way to grow.

What to watch

• Whether Oracle publishes task definitions, prices or examples of likely bills.
• Which applications and AI features would be covered, and when charges would begin.
• How Oracle’s proposed model compares with rivals’ subscription and usage-based pricing.

Discussion spark: If an AI agent takes over work that once required more software seats, should its provider charge for each task, or should that work be included in the subscription?

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