You're Probably Wasting Free HubSpot Credits

And They're Included In Your Subscription

Honestly… most businesses don’t even realise they exist.

Including many of our own clients. Shame on us.

HubSpot has quietly built AI-powered tools directly into the platform, and depending on your subscription tier, you’re already receiving monthly credits to use them.

The problem?

Most teams either:

• Don’t know where to find them
• Don’t understand what they do, or
• Assume they’ll accidentally rack up a giant bill if they touch anything AI-related

Which (to be fair) you absolutely can if you don’t put limits and monitoring in place.

So instead… the credits reset every month and disappear unused.

Let’s fix that.

First Things First: What Are HubSpot Credits?

HubSpot Credits are essentially a flexible usage currency for some of HubSpot’s newer AI-powered tools and automation features.

They can be used across tools like:

• Prospecting Agent
• Customer Agent
• Buyer Intent
• Smart Properties
• AI Workflow Actions

Your monthly allowance depends on your highest HubSpot subscription tier:

Important things to know:

• Credits reset every billing cycle
• They do not roll over
• You can go over your limit if overages are enabled
• Additional credit packs can be purchased if needed

So if you’re not using them each month… you’re effectively leaving value on the table.

Just Because HubSpot Added AI to It, Doesn’t Mean You Should Turn It On Immediately

We’re seeing two extremes right now:

1. Businesses ignoring the tools entirely
2. Businesses switching everything on at once because “AI”

Neither is the goal.

The smartest approach is usually:

• Start small
• Pick one team
• Pick one process
• Test one AI feature
• Define one measurable outcome
• Scale what actually helps your team

Because AI features are only valuable if they:

• Reduce manual workload
• Improve visibility
• Help your team move faster, or
• Create a better customer experience

Otherwise? They’re just expensive buttons.

Start Here: Using Your HubSpot Credits

If this were our own portal, here’s where we’d start testing first.

If You’re a Service Team → Test Customer Agent (Carefully)

Customer Agent is where things get interesting. And also where things can go sideways if you rush it.

The AI agent can help resolve customer conversations using your existing knowledge base and support content. Our recommendation is to start with repetitive, low-risk support questions first.

Think:

• Opening hours
• Delivery FAQs
• Account setup instructions
• Basic troubleshooting
• Simple policy questions

Do not immediately hand over sensitive or high-context customer conversations.

The goal initially is to reduce repetitive workload for your team, not replace your support team entirely.

If You Love Automation → Experiment with AI Workflow Actions

This is where operations teams can create some serious efficiency.

AI workflow actions can:

• Summarise records
• Categorise tickets
• Assist with routing
• Generate snippets or internal notes
• Support repetitive admin tasks

But again:

• Don’t automate chaos

• Clean process first

• AI second

If the underlying process is messy, AI usually just helps you make mistakes faster.

Buyer Intent Is Powerful… But Be Careful

Buyer Intent can help identify companies engaging with your website and show signals that suggest purchasing interest.

Very, very cool.

Also very easy to over-monitor and burn through credits if you get excited.

Our recommendation:

• Start with a tightly defined ICP
• Monitor a small number of high-value companies first
• Make sure your sales team actually has a follow-up process before scaling usage

Because data without action is just expensive reporting.

Not everything “AI-related” inside HubSpot necessarily uses credits

For example:

• Rule-based chatbots generally do not consume credits
• Testing environments usually don’t use credits
• Some enrichment functionality is no longer as heavily tied to credits as it once was

HubSpot is evolving this space quickly, so it’s worth checking the latest product documentation before rolling out anything at scale.

The Biggest Mistake We’re Seeing

Teams either:

• Ignore credits entirely, or
• Switch everything on at once with no visibility over usage

Neither is ideal.

The sweet spot is: small experiments with measurable outcomes.

A Few Important Things to Know Before You Start

Some important operational notes:

• Free and View-Only users cannot consume credits
• Prospecting Agent and Customer Agent both include free trial periods
• You can exceed your limits if overages are enabled
• Additional capacity packs can be purchased if needed

And this part matters:

If automatic credit upgrades are enabled, HubSpot can automatically move you into a higher credit tier if usage exceeds your allowance.

So before rolling anything out widely: set usage alerts and monitor adoption carefully.

How to Check Your Credit Usage

Inside HubSpot:

Settings → Account & Billing → Usage & Limits

From there you can:

• Monitor usage
• Activate trials
• Review limits
• Purchase additional capacity if needed

We also strongly recommend ensuring your billing contacts and Super Admins are receiving usage notifications.

Because nothing ruins the excitement of “testing AI” faster than an unexpected bill.

The Opportunity Here Is Actually Pretty Simple

Most businesses are already paying for access to these tools through their HubSpot subscription. They’re just not using them yet.

Not because the tools aren’t useful, but because nobody has really explained where to start, how to manage the credits properly, or which use cases are actually worth testing first.

That’s why our recommendation is simple:

Start small.

Pick one team, one process, and one measurable outcome. Put limits and monitoring in place before you scale anything, and focus on practical use cases that genuinely reduce workload or improve visibility for your team.

And please…

Don’t turn every AI feature on just because HubSpot added it.