In this article, you will learn how your usage is calculated across all Genius add-ons, including:
- Genius Phone (calls and texts)
- Genius Answering (calls and texts)
- Genius Recording
Where to track your usage
Real-time access to your usage is available right from Workiz. From the Usage tab of your Billing page, you can see exactly how many minutes, texts, and conversations you've used relative to what's included in your plan. A progress bar gives you an at-a-glance sense of how your usage stacks up against your plan's limits, so you always know where you stand before your next billing cycle.
Genius Phone
Calls
Every phone call counts toward your phone usage, regardless of whether it was answered. Usage is based on total call duration and is always rounded up to the nearest minute. For example:
- A voicemail that lasts 3:12 counts as 4 minutes of phone usage.
- A missed call that lasts 8 seconds counts as 1 minute of phone usage.
- If a caller spends 1:59 in your IVR menu without making a selection, it counts as 2 minutes of phone usage.
Calls forwarded to an external number still count toward your plan minutes, since Workiz continues processing and recording the call regardless of where it's ultimately answered. Toll-free calling results in higher usage rates than standard numbers.
Texts
Text messages are billed by unit (also called a segment), not by the individual message bubble you see in your device's messaging interface. This means a single message bubble on your screen may actually be broken down into multiple messaging units for billing purposes, depending on its length and content.
- SMS: One messaging unit typically covers up to 160 characters of plain text.
-
MMS: Units are calculated based on the size
and
format of attached media.
Using emojis or certain special characters — primarily the backtick (`) — reduces the number of characters allowed per text segment from 160 to 70 and may significantly increase your usage. This is an industry-wide carrier limitation, not a Workiz rule.
Genius Answering
Genius Answering is tracked by "conversation."
In Workiz, a conversation refers to an interaction between your AI agent and a client — whether it happens over phone calls or text messages. When your Genius agent engages with a client, that interaction counts toward your conversation usage for the month.
Because calls and texts work differently, Workiz counts them differently.
| Type | How it's counted |
|---|---|
| Call | Any phone call that lasts 20 or more seconds. If a call is ended before it reaches 20 seconds, it will not count toward your conversation usage. |
| Text | Any interaction where your AI agent sends at least four messages within a three-day window. If your AI agent sends another message after that window has passed, it will be counted as a new conversation. |
How Genius Answering affects your phone usage
Genius Answering conversations also use your Genius Phone plan. For example, a five-minute AI-handled call counts as one Genius Answering conversation and uses five phone plan minutes.
Call minutes and text messages are counted toward your phone plan because your Genius Answering AI agent uses your Workiz Phone service to communicate with clients, just like any other team member would.
Genius Recording
Genius Recording is billed per minute of recorded audio. Any partial minute is rounded up to the next full minute — for example, a recording that runs 1 minute and 15 seconds is billed as 2 minutes.
Workiz automatically trims silence from each recording, so you're only billed for the portions that captured audible dialogue.