How to set usage limit on embedded Pickaxes

A lot of customers have been asking how they can set a limit on the number of times people can use AI tools embedded on their websites. I thought I would write brief breakdown of how to set usage limits and why they’re useful. While the Studio product has a more robust system for limiting AI usage by accounts, we also offer a way to set usage limits on embedded Pickaxes.


Why set usage limits?
There are multiple reasons why you may want to set a usage limit on your embedded Pickaxe.

  • Conserve your own credits/API. Importantly, when a smart-form or chatbot is embedded on your website, the tool will debit your Pickaxe credits or use your API key whenever it is used.
  • Encourage people to sign up for a paid tier. Many customers have two sections of their website-- one with unlimited usage and one with limited usage. By limiting usage on one tool, you can encourage them to upgrade to the paid tier.

How to set usage limits on embedded Pickaxes
To set an usage limit on your embedded AI tool, simply follow these instructions.

  • Click on the Pickaxe.
  • Create a new embed (or click on an existing embed). This will take you to the Embed Customization screen.
  • In the left-hand panel, look for the “Guest Usage Limit” and set the desired limit.
  • (Optional) Set a message that users will receive when they reach the limit.
  • Click save.
  • If it’s a new embed, copy/paste the embed code on your website. If it’s a pre-existing embed, the usage limit will update automatically without you needing to re-embed it.

Importantly, you can have multiple, different embedded instances of the same Pickaxe. So you can set different limits on different embedded instances. You can keep track of each instance from the Pickaxe’s page which displays them all. Users are tracked by cookies. Their limit resets every 30 days. That means if a browser with a cookie visits your website and uses the embedded tool and gets limited, they will be able to start using it again after 30 days later. Importantly iframe embeds do not support usage limits because they do not support our cookie system. All the other embed types do support usage limits.

If you’re looking for extra resources, here is a step-by-step guide on how to embed an AI chatbot on your website.

1 Like

I will be using Pickaxe embedded on a Wordpress website. Is it possible to set multiple usage limits on the same embedded pickaxe? I want to offer multiple usage limits on the same pickaxe… essentially it would be setting tiers. I do not need monetization option.

Is there a way for me to customize the content when the user hits the limit…

I plan on allowing people to use a form AI once ONLY and sending them to a manual upgrade URL Link in the display content…

let me know,

1 Like

Yes, you can customize the experience of hitting the usage limit. In the Embed Customization screen, we allow you to…

  • Set a custom usage limit
  • Set a custom message received upon hitting the limit
  • Set a custom destination for the button (i.e. your studio, your calendly, a Stripe page, etc.)

To set the usage limit, use the “Guest Usage Limit”. To set the message, use the “Custom Message”. To customize the button, use the “Link button text”. And to set the destination of button (where it leads to) use the “Usage Limit Funnel” dropdown. We give you several possible destinations plus the option to enter your own custom url.

Yes, you can set different usage limits on the same Pickaxe. You just need to create unique embed code for each one. We give you the option to title each Embed also. So you can call one “Home Page Embed” and another “Paywall Embed” and set different usage limits for each one.

do you need to clone the pickaxe to do this

No you can create different embeds of the same Pickaxe.

If you click on a Pickaxe you’ll see a page that lists all the embeds. The purpose of this functionality is to let you embed the same Pickaxe in two different places with two different designs and two different usage limits. For example our Pickaxe Doorman is embedded in multiple places.