Why Max Is the Best Value #

Customers ask us the same thing all the time: “Can I use a cheaper AI model?” or “Can I bring my own key for a budget model to save money?” This page answers that, and explains why Max is the model we recommend for almost everyone.

The short version: Max is the most accurate model we ship, at the lowest cost per reply. Chasing a cheaper model usually does not save you money once you count the cost of a wrong answer.

The Tiers (and BYOK) #

You pick your AI model under AI Quality on your Agent’s AI Instructions tab. Here is what each option costs and what it’s for.

What is BYOK? Bring Your Own Key lets you connect your own Anthropic Claude API key and pay Anthropic directly instead of spending credits. It only works with Anthropic. See AI Model & BYOK. Note that Max never uses your key and always bills 0.25 credits, so to bill replies to your own Anthropic account, keep the Agent on Pro.

Why Not Just Use the Cheapest Model? #

It’s a fair question. A budget model can look almost as good as a premium one on simple questions like “What’s the price?” or “Do you support Instagram?” Everything answers those fine.

The problem shows up at the edges, the moments that actually decide a sale. A real customer says something slightly wrong, or asks for something you don’t offer, and a weak model agrees with them confidently instead of correcting them. For example, a customer asks “So there’s a 30-day free trial?” when your business never offered one, and the model answers “Yep, the first 30 days are free.” Each answer like that is a promise you’d have to walk back later, or a refund.

What Makes Max Different #

Max is not just “a cheaper model.” It is built for the sales and support conversations the platform runs, and it sticks to what your business actually says.

And it costs a quarter of Pro. So you get our most accurate model at a quarter of Pro’s cost, without managing an API key, a billing account, or a provider.

That’s why the answer to “should I switch to a cheaper model to save money?” is almost always: you’re already looking at it. It’s Max.

When Should I Use Pro or BYOK Instead? #

Max is the right default, but Pro (Claude) is the better pick if:

• You specifically want your conversations running on Anthropic Claude, or
• You want to bring your own Anthropic key (BYOK) and bill AI usage directly to your own Anthropic account (Max can’t do this, since it always uses credits).

Claude is excellent and rock-solid. The trade-off is simply cost: Pro is 1 credit vs Max’s 0.25, and BYOK means you manage your own Anthropic billing. For most people that’s effort and expense for accuracy Max already gives you.

Frequently Asked #

Is Max less accurate because it’s cheaper? No. Max is the most accurate model we ship. It is built for the conversations the platform runs, which is why it stays accurate where a budget model slips, at a quarter of the Pro price.

Can I use a cheaper third-party model (GPT, Llama, DeepSeek, etc.)? Not directly. BYOK is Anthropic-only, and Max already covers the “cheap” use case far more reliably. Budget models tend to make up details in real sales conversations, which costs more than it saves.

Will switching tiers break my Agent? No. You can change the AI Quality setting on an Agent at any time. It only affects which model handles new replies and how many credits each reply costs.

How do credits work? A Max reply is 0.25 credits, a Mini reply is 0.15, a Pro reply is 1 credit, an Economy reply is 0.5 credits.

See also: AI Model & BYOK · Billing Overview · Setting Up Your AI Bot