> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.aisuru.com/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.aisuru.com/en/analytics/usage/how-usage-works.md).

# How does usage work?

It's important to note that **credits are only consumed when the Agents you've created are used**:

* End users who interact with your Agents never consume credits;
* You won't consume credits when testing Agents created by others.

-> This system lets you manage and optimize resource usage based on how your own creations are actually used.

### How are credits consumed?

Credits are consumed in several situations:

* **1 credit for each Agent created**;
* **1 credit for each new chat session** started with one of your Agents;
* **1 credit for each AI-generated message** from your Agents;
* **1 credit for each document page imported** into your Agent from the Import / Export section.

{% hint style="info" %}
**If you use your own API key, you won't consume credits for messages or pages — only for creating Agents and when a user opens a session with your Agent.**
{% endhint %}

### Expert Group

If you use the [**Expert Group**](/en/extensions/expert-group.md), you will consume:

* 1 credit for creating your group;
* 1 credit for opening a session with the expert group;
* 1 additional credit for each expert Agent you start a conversation with;
* 1 additional credit each time the group needs to decide which Agent to route the user's message to.

### Deep Thinking

If you use [**Deep Thinking**](/en/extensions/deep-thinking.md) in your Agents, you'll consume 3 credits for each AI-generated message.

Now that you understand how usage works, **let's see how to monitor it effectively**.