What flips a seat user onto credits?

Missing the user-based AI permission. Admins must assign it for each user; without it, users consume credits instead of seat-based access. Same primary.

Do Data 360 sources stay free under seats?

No. Connecting additional sources through Data 360 consumes credits as it processes data and creates search indexes, even when seat-based CRM/Slack search is unmetered. Same primary.

Where do we see Coworker usage?

Digital Wallet, per Salesforce's billing considerations page. Same primary.

← Reality Check

Does Agentforce Coworker Bill by Seats or Flex Credits, and What Makes a User Fall Back to Usage Metering?

Salesforce documents seat-based and usage-based Coworker pricing in the same org. Seat CRM and optional Slack search can be unmetered for eligible authenticated users. Missing the user-based AI permission flips seats into credit burn. Guest and portal users stay on usage. Data 360 sources add their own meters.

Jonathan Kvarfordt · Published September 17, 2026 · 9 min read

Why trust this analysis?

The short answer

Does Agentforce Coworker always burn Flex Credits?

No. Salesforce documents seat-based pricing where searching Slack (optional) or Salesforce CRM with Coworker does not consume Flex Credits or Data Services Credits for authenticated users on eligible licenses. Usage-based pricing still exists for other setups. Source: https://developer.salesforce.com/docs/data/agentforce-coworker/guide/agentforce-coworker-billing-considerations.html

Evidence

The Proof Gap has a measured size Every GTM function adopted AI faster than it produced revenue. One dataset measures both sides in the same sample.
What flips a seat user onto credits? Missing the user-based AI permission. Admins must assign it for each user; without it, users consume credits instead of seat-based access. Same primary.

Supporting pages

The Proof Gap has a measured size the data behind this piece
The Proof Gap definition

Last reviewed September 17, 2026

Salesforce documents two pricing models for Agentforce Coworker: seat-based pricing through Agentforce 1 Edition or Agentforce for Sales, Service, and Industries licenses, and usage-based pricing through Flex Credits, Einstein Requests, or Data Services Credits. Some orgs run both in the same tenant. Billing then follows each user's license type and setup, not a single org-wide toggle. Primary: Billing Considerations for Agentforce Coworker.

This is not Voice Actions versus Voice Minutes. It is not PayGo versus Pre-Commit. It is not the Help Agent 400-credit resolution. It is whether Coworker search for a named employee sits on a seat entitlement or draws the same Flex Credit pool your customer-facing agents already burn. Sibling forks: Voice Actions vs Voice Minutes, PayGo vs Pre-Commit vs Pre-Purchase, Help Agent 400 credits, AIforce taxonomy.

The argument

How this reality check breaks down

A map of the sections ahead, in the order the case is made. Schematic, not a dataset. Source-cited charts live in the research library.

Competitor pricing explainers already treat employee or Coworker access as a seat-plus-usage fork while our live Questions set names Coworker only as an AIforce surface. Demand evidence: Cyntexa, Ashapura Softech, Salesforce Ben.

The two models (vendor language)

Seat-based. Agentforce 1 Edition or Agentforce for Sales, Service, and Industries licenses. With seat-based pricing, searching Slack (optional) or Salesforce CRM with Agentforce Coworker does not consume Flex Credits or Data Services Credits. Seat-based pricing applies only to authenticated users with eligible licenses. Source: Billing Considerations.
Usage-based. Flex Credits, Einstein Requests, or Data Services Credits, depending on which sources are connected and how the contract is configured. Review Coworker credit usage in Digital Wallet. Same primary.

Reality Check

Does Agentforce Coworker Bill by Seats or Flex Credits, and What Makes a User Fall Back to Usage Metering?

Schematic, not a dataset. Source-cited charts live in the research library.

Guest, unauthenticated, and portal users are billed with usage-based pricing even when your employees are on seats. Same primary.

The permission trap that turns seats into credits

Admins must assign the user-based AI permission for each user on the seat path. Without it, users consume credits instead of using their seat-based access. That is the Order Form surprise: you bought seats, Digital Wallet still moves, and Finance asks why. Source: Billing Considerations.

Put the permission assignment in the cutover checklist before you treat seat count as the cost model. Name RevOps for Digital Wallet cohort checks and the Salesforce admin for the permission set.

What Coworker searches by default, and what adds meters

When you turn on Agentforce Coworker, Salesforce CRM is the only source by default. You can optionally add Slack. With just CRM, or CRM and Slack, the Coworker search agent draws credits under usage-based pricing through Standard Prompts, Basic Prompts, and Advanced Prompts, billed as Flex Credits (Salesforce Foundations Licenses) or Einstein Requests (Salesforce Foundations - Legacy Product Licenses). To consume Flex Credits instead of Einstein Requests while using Agentforce Coworker, upgrade to a non-legacy Foundations license. Source: Billing Considerations.

Connecting additional sources through Data 360 consumes credits as Data 360 processes data and creates search indexes. Usage types named on that page include Data 360 Unstructured Processing, Data 360 Intelligent Processing, Data 360 Querying, plus Data Services Credits paths for Data Queries, Unstructured Data Processed, and Intelligent Processing. Same primary. Sibling shared-pool decoder: Shared with Data 360.

Order Form worksheet for Director+ teams

List every persona that will open Coworker: AE, SE, CS, RevOps, leadership. Mark authenticated employee versus guest, community, or portal.
For each persona, write the license path the AE proposed: Agentforce 1 / Agentforce for Sales|Service|Industries seat, or usage-only.
Confirm in writing whether CRM-only and CRM+Slack search are unmetered under that seat path (vendor says seat-based CRM/Slack search does not consume Flex Credits or Data Services Credits).
Confirm the user-based AI permission will be assigned before go-live, and who owns the audit that no named seat user is burning credits by mistake.
If any Data 360 source is in scope, add a second burn line for Data 360 / Data Services processing and query. Do not fold it into the Agentforce action forecast.
If the org still has legacy Foundations product licenses, ask whether Coworker prompts hit Einstein Requests or Flex Credits, and whether a Foundations upgrade is required to land on Flex Credits. Sibling SKU fork: SKU.
Size Flex Credits only for the users and sources that remain on usage metering. Unused Flex Credits still expire on the Order End Date with no rollover on the public pricing FAQ. Sibling: PayGo and salesforce.com/agentforce/pricing.

What competitor pages claim (demand, not Salesforce list)

Cyntexa and Ashapura Softech publish per-user add-on figures (examples in those posts include $5/user paths and $125/$150 unmetered employee-agent add-ons, plus Agentforce 1 from $550/user). Salesforce Ben walks Flex Credits for employee-facing agents alongside other models. Treat those numbers as competitor demand proof and AE-negotiation context. Put contracted seat price, credit rate, and exclusivity language on your Order Form. Do not paste a blog list price into Finance without AE confirmation. Sources: Cyntexa, Ashapura Softech, Salesforce Ben.

What to put in writing before you sign

Pricing model per persona: seat-based, usage-based, or mixed org with named rules.
Eligible license names for seat path (Agentforce 1 or Agentforce for Sales/Service/Industries as they appear on the quote).
Confirmation that seat-based CRM and optional Slack search do not consume Flex Credits or Data Services Credits for authenticated eligible users.
Permission-set owner and go-live audit that missing AI permission will not silently flip seats to credits.
Data 360 source list, if any, with a separate credit forecast.
Whether Coworker prompts bill Flex Credits or Einstein Requests under your Foundations path.
Digital Wallet owners for Coworker usage review after launch. Sibling: Digital Wallet.

What the sibling decoders already cover (do not duplicate)

AIforce surfaces including Coworker as product taxonomy: AIforce
Flex Credits shared with Data 360: Shared with Data 360
SKU Flex Credits versus Einstein Requests: SKU
PayGo / Pre-Commit / Pre-Purchase: PayGo
Digital Wallet has no hard kill switch: Digital Wallet

This page is the Coworker seat-versus-usage fork on the Order Form once those siblings are decided.

Related: AIforce · SKU · Shared with Data 360 · Digital Wallet

Take it to the room

The short list this issue leaves you with

Pulled from the argument above, written so you can read it out in a pipeline or board review. Schematic, not a dataset.

Frequently asked questions

Does Agentforce Coworker always burn Flex Credits?: No. Salesforce documents seat-based pricing where searching Slack (optional) or Salesforce CRM with Coworker does not consume Flex Credits or Data Services Credits for authenticated users on eligible licenses. Usage-based pricing still exists for other setups. Source: https://developer.salesforce.com/docs/data/agentforce-coworker/guide/agentforce-coworker-billing-considerations.html
What flips a seat user onto credits?: Missing the user-based AI permission. Admins must assign it for each user; without it, users consume credits instead of seat-based access. Same primary.
Do guest or portal users get seat pricing?: No. Guest, unauthenticated, and portal users are billed with usage-based pricing. Same primary.
Do Data 360 sources stay free under seats?: No. Connecting additional sources through Data 360 consumes credits as it processes data and creates search indexes, even when seat-based CRM/Slack search is unmetered. Same primary.
Where do we see Coworker usage?: Digital Wallet, per Salesforce's billing considerations page. Same primary.

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