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How credits work

Credits pay for the AI features in Hero Marketer. Subscriptions cover product access and a monthly credit allocation. Heavy AI usage that exceeds the allocation can be topped up.

What 1 credit means​

1 credit is roughly equivalent to $1 of AI spend on the underlying models that power Hero Marketer. The denomination keeps the math intuitive: 20 credits is about $20 of AI work, 50 credits is about $50, and so on.

Monthly allocation by plan​

Each plan includes credits at renewal:

  • Pro. 20 credits per month.
  • Growth. 50 credits per month.
  • Agency. 100 credits per month.

Monthly plan credits refresh at the start of each billing period. They do not accumulate beyond the month.

What consumes credits​

The AI driven parts of Hero Marketer use credits:

  • Building a campaign through the wizard. Variable. Costs depend on the actual AI token usage for keyword clustering, ad copy generation, and sitelink drafting. A typical campaign setup costs around 1.5 to 2 credits combined, but it is not a flat fee.
  • Regenerating ad copy. Variable based on token usage. If the first set isn't right, regenerating produces a new set and will dynamically deduct credits.
  • Generating sitelinks. Included in the campaign credit. Standalone sitelink generation outside a campaign is also covered.
  • Hero AI conversations. Variable. Each turn costs whatever the underlying AI work cost. A quick lookup uses a few credits, a deep multi-campaign investigation uses more. Hero AI uses different models for different parts of a session (a higher-cost reasoning model for synthesis, faster and cheaper models for data lookups), each priced separately, and the chat shows a per-turn estimate calibrated to your actual usage history before you send. If a single message would consume a meaningful slice of your remaining balance, the chat asks for confirmation first.
  • Re running product analysis. Small credit cost. Most users only do this when meaningfully changing the product description.

What doesn't consume credits​

Several things are free:

  • Reading the dashboard. No credit cost regardless of how often you check.
  • Managing accounts and products. Adding, switching, editing settings.
  • Looking at the campaign wizard. Browsing through it without saving costs nothing. Credits are only charged during the specific AI generation steps (e.g., when the AI actively generates keywords, ad copy, or sitelinks for you). The final "Create campaign" submission to Google Ads itself does not cost credits.
  • Connecting or disconnecting Google Ads. Free.
  • Settings, billing, exporting your data. Free.

When credits run low​

A warning appears when your balance drops below 10 percent of your plan's allocation (2 credits for Pro, 5 for Growth, 10 for Agency). The warning shows on the dashboard and as a toast.

Two paths from there:

  • Buy more credits. $20 for 20 credits. Purchased extra credits roll over indefinitely until used. See Buy more credits.
  • Wait for renewal. If you can hold off, your monthly allocation refreshes at the start of the next billing period.

When credits run out​

If you hit zero, AI features pause. Specifically:

  • The campaign wizard's create button is disabled. You can browse and edit drafts but not launch a new campaign.
  • Hero AI blocks new messages. Hero AI pre-checks credit availability before sending. Existing chat history stays accessible, but new messages are blocked until you top up.
  • AI features inside campaign creation pause. Ad copy generation, sitelink generation, and keyword research pre-check credits before running, so they stop before doing partial work rather than cutting off mid-process.

The dashboard, account management, and viewing past campaigns continue to work normally. Hero Marketer doesn't lock you out of anything you've already done.

To unblock: top up or wait for renewal. See Out of credits.

Credits versus subscription​

These are separate:

  • Subscription ($20, $50, or $100/month) buys you product access and the monthly credit allocation.
  • Credits are what's actually spent on AI usage.

You always need an active subscription. Topping up credits when your subscription is canceled won't restore access.

When usage doesn't match expectations​

A few common surprises:

  • Hero AI used more than expected. Some questions trigger deeper investigations that cost more credits than a simple lookup. The chat shows a per-turn estimate calibrated to your past usage before you send, and warns if a single message would use a big chunk of remaining balance. The estimate is based on history, so a question that pulls more data than your typical turn can come in higher.
  • Regeneration counts. Each AI regeneration is its own variable credit charge based on token usage. If you regenerate three times, you pay for the tokens consumed across all three generation requests.
  • Failed campaigns still cost AI credits. If Hero Marketer attempts to push a campaign and Google Ads rejects it (usually for policy reasons), you have still paid for the earlier AI work (keywords, ad copy) because the generation steps completed successfully. Reach out if you think a charge was unjustified.

Refunds for unused credits​

See Refund policy.