Dive Brief:
- Oracle is expanding into token-based and outcome-based pricing models as it explores new ways to monetize its artificial intelligence capabilities, CEO Mike Sicilia said Wednesday.
- The company plans to offer the new usage-linked monetization approaches in addition to its existing subscription-based framework. Token-based pricing charges customers for AI usage, while outcome-based models tie pricing to business results generated by those systems.
- “We are simplifying how customers consume and pay for agentic capabilities,” Sicilia said during an earnings call. “Our new agentic pricing aligns with customer value.”
Dive Insight:
Sicilia said Oracle has begun a limited rollout of “agentic pricing,” allowing customers to purchase additional AI capacity through token bundles that can be used across its application suite, alongside pricing models tied to specific business outcomes.
He said 33 customers, including Aon Services Corporation and Liberty Energy, pre-purchased token bundles during the quarter, giving them access to advanced reasoning and AI models under the new structure.
The changes reflect a wider transition in enterprise software toward hybrid pricing structures, as vendors attempt to monetize generative AI capabilities that do not fit traditional per-seat licensing models.
AI and usage-based pricing are contributing to rising volatility in enterprise software spending, with organizations reporting unexpected charges as vendors layer consumption-based fees on top of subscription contracts, according to a January report from software-as-a-service management firm Zylo.
The research found that new pricing mechanics and AI feature monetization had become leading factors behind rising SaaS costs, overtaking application sprawl.
