Seven vendors invented a credit currency in 2026. This playbook puts them on one comparable table and names the buyer side lever for each, from the agentic multiplier to the overage cliff.
The playbook is a buyer side reference that compares seven vendor AI credit currencies on one basis and names the negotiation lever for each. It is built from live engagement data, not vendor marketing.
Across roughly 30 to 40 enterprise AI credit and consumption negotiations Fredrik Filipsson and the team ran or benchmarked between 2025 and 2026, three patterns recur. Every account team framed its own credit as the cheap one.
The currencies compare only when unit price, allowance, overage, and the agentic multiplier sit side by side. The snapshot below previews the full table in the paper.
| Vendor currency | Unit basis | Rollover | Renewal trigger |
|---|---|---|---|
| SAP AI Units | Per action, list undisclosed | Often none | Cloud renewals from July 2026 |
| Oracle AI Units | 0.01 per AI Unit | Yes, packs roll over | Fusion 26C from July 2026 |
| Microsoft Copilot Credits | 0.01 per credit; ACUs pre purchased | Capacity typically expires | Agent Store from 22 April 2026 |
| AWS Bedrock AgentCore | 0.0895 per vCPU hour | Not applicable | Consumption, no fixed renewal |
| Google Agent Engine | 0.0864 per vCPU hour | Not applicable | Gateway billing from 13 July 2026 |
The primary sources behind these figures are the vendor pages themselves: SAP Business AI, Oracle Fusion AI, AWS Bedrock AgentCore, and Google Vertex AI pricing.
The standard account team pitch is that the per credit unit price is low, often near one cent, so buyers should not worry about consumption. We disagree. In roughly 30 to 40 negotiations we ran or benchmarked, the unit price was the least important number and the agentic multiplier was the most important, because one autonomous run consumed five to ten interactive prompts of credits and the vendor supplied first year estimate ran well below actual burn. The buyer side move is to negotiate the multiplier, the allowance, rollover, and a spend floor before a single agent goes live.
Source: Redress Compliance advisory engagement file, 2024 to 2025.
The playbook is the hub of a six cluster program. Each vendor pillar goes deep on one currency, and the cross vendor pillar binds them together.
The unit price is the number the vendor wants you to compare. The agentic multiplier is the number that decides the bill.
Unlock the paper, then run the short sequence it lays out.
It is the buyer side playbook that puts seven vendor AI credit currencies on one comparable table and names the levers for each. It covers SAP AI Units, Oracle AI Units, Microsoft Copilot Credits, Workday Flex Credits, ServiceNow Assist consumption, AWS AgentCore, and Google Agent Engine.
Procurement, IT finance, and sourcing leads facing an AI credit renewal should read it. Anyone signing a consumption based AI contract in 2026 needs the agentic multiplier and overage math before signature, not after the first invoice.
It helps you negotiate the agentic multiplier, the included allowance, rollover, and a committed spend floor across every credit currency at once. Buyers who won rollover and a floor cut effective overage cost by 20 to 35 percent.
No. Enter your work details and the full playbook opens on this page. There is no follow up sales call unless you ask for one.
Yes. The figures track the 2026 vendor announcements, including Microsoft Agent Store billing from 22 April 2026 and Google Agent Engine gateway billing from 13 July 2026, and match the cross vendor pillar to the number.
Independent. Buyer side. The advisory firm the AI vendors do not want you to hire.
One letter a month. Negotiation moves, audit signals, and price book shifts across every AI credit currency.
Once a month. Audit patterns, renewal benchmarks, and vendor commercial signals across every major publisher and the GenAI vendors. No follow up sales pressure.
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