Seamlessly built into your MIS, Arbor AI can turn your requests into actions and make your everyday tasks even easier. As your collaborator and assistant, Arbor AI shows up right where you need it, freeing up your time for the tasks that only you can do.
We believe every school should benefit from AI, without worrying about costs getting out of control.
That's why your Arbor MIS package includes a Monthly Free Allowance of AI usage. This guide explains how that allowance works, what your limits are based on your package, and what to do if your school needs more capacity.
The Administering and Managing Arbor AI Series
This guide is a part of a series. The guides in this series are:
How does the Monthly Free Allowance work?
The exact size of your monthly free allowance depends on your Arbor package (Core/Comms/Perform) and your school's phase (Primary/Secondary), with schools on the higher tiers receiving more credits than those on the lower tiers, and secondaries receiving slightly more than primaries due to differences in school size.
The allowance is shared across all users on your MIS. Each time a staff member uses an AI feature, this slightly reduces your whole school's AI allowance for that month.
Your Monthly Free Allowance automatically resets on the first day of every month. If your school uses up your monthly allowance before the month is over, your access to Arbor AI features will simply pause until the reset. There are no hidden costs or automatic overage charges.
Why does Arbor have a Monthly Free Allowance Policy?
Since each AI interaction carries a cost, limits are essential to keep our tools high-quality, fair, and sustainable for all schools. We’ve designed the Monthly Free Allowance to help every Arbor school get started with Arbor AI and benefit from these time-saving features for free, every single month. If you use up your free allowance, your standard AI features will be paused for the rest of the month, and you’ll have the option to purchase an AI Subscription.
If you’re regularly using up your Monthly Free Allowance, it’s a good sign that your school is saving time and getting value out of Arbor AI. We’ve priced our AI Subscriptions affordably to make sure the cost is easily outweighed by the time your staff will save.
How high is our allowance?
Even though your exact allowance varies depending on your package, the good news is that we’ve set your Monthly Free Allowance such that most schools won’t use it up
Primary and Special Schools:
Core Package: ~300 Ask Arbor interactions per month (~3,600 per year) / ~2,000 actions using other AI features per month (~24,000 per year).*
Comms Package: ~450 Ask Arbor interactions per month (~5,400 per year) / ~2,000 actions using other AI features per month (~24,000 per year).*
Perform Package: ~600 Ask Arbor interactions per month (~7,200 per year) / ~2,000 actions using other AI features per month (~24,000 per year).*
Secondary Schools:
Core Package: ~100 Ask Arbor interactions per month (~1,200 per year) / ~2,000 actions using other AI features per month (~24,000 per year).*
Comms Package: ~150 Ask Arbor interactions per month (~1,800 per year) / ~2,000 actions using other AI features per month (~24,000 per year).*
Perform Package: ~200 Ask Arbor interactions per month (~2,400 per year) / ~2,000 actions using other AI features per month (~24,000 per year).*
Important notes on your allowance
"Interactions" refer to conversational prompts sent to Ask Arbor. "Actions using other AI features" refers to using tools like Suggest Comms or Suggest Student Summary.
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*All figures are estimates; actual consumption will vary depending on how you use AI. Your school’s actual consumption of AI credits may vary based on the complexity, length, and structure of your queries and requests. More complex or multi-step questions typically use more AI credits behind the scenes, meaning you’d use more of your free allowance in one go.
We recommend monitoring your usage via your Arbor AI dashboard to understand how your school is using your free allowance each month.
By default, teachers and pastoral staff are excluded from accessing your standard Arbor AI features. They can be switched on manually in your permission settings, but please be aware that this may use up your allowance more quickly.
How do we know when we've used up our Monthly Free Allowance?
You can track your usage via the Arbor AI dashboard in your MIS (School > Arbor AI), and we will send your headteacher alerts at certain usage thresholds.
- At 80% usage: Your Headteacher is notified via email and in-app notifications.
- At 90% usage: Your Headteacher and your Arbor Partnership Manager are notified via email and in-app notifications.
- At 100% usage: Your Headteacher and your Arbor Partnership Manager are notified via email and in-app notifications. Your Arbor AI features will be paused for the month. You can either pay to upgrade to AI Subscription to keep using them, or wait for your allowance to refresh next month.
Do we need a subscription?
With a paid subscription, you get additional credits to use on Arbor's AI features so that you can keep using them if your free allowance runs out.
- Subscriptions are optional. If your Free Monthly Allowance runs out, your access to Arbor's AI features simply pauses untill the allowance renews - you do not automatically get charged for a subscription.
- Subscriptions work like a top-up on your free allowance and are billed as a single item with a set price, not on a recurring basis. Unused credits purchased through a subscription expire after 12 months.
- If your school uses up your subscription, you can easily upgrade to a larger one by contacting our team. You'll be able to track your subscription usage in the AI dashboard as well.
To discuss a subscription, please reach out to customersales@arbor-education.com.
What happens once we buy an AI Subscription?
Once you buy an AI Subscription, you’ll still continue to receive your free allowance each month. After you’ve used that up, your school’s Arbor AI usage will automatically switch to use your AI Subscription balance instead.
If you don’t use up your full AI Subscription after 12 months, it will expire, and you’ll need to buy it again (or you can just use your Monthly Free Allowance instead).
Which subscriptions are available and what do they cost?
We've priced our AI Subscriptions affordably:
Small School Subscription (£150): ~2,000-25,000 messages/interactions.*
Standard School Subscription (£500): ~5,000-80,000 messages/interactions.*
Large School Subscription (£1,000): ~10,000-200,000 messages/interactions.*
* All usage estimates provided are approximate.
FAQs
What if I use up my Monthly Free Allowance?
You can upgrade to an AI Subscription to continue using Arbor AI features if you use up your free allowance.
| School Type | Price | Over the school year, your free allowance gives you roughly… |
| Small School Subscription | £150 | ~10,000-25,000 messages/interactions* |
| Standard School Subscription | £500 | ~30,000-80,000 messages/interactions* |
| Large School Subscription | £1000 | ~60,000- 200,000 messages/interactions* |
* All usage estimates provided are approximate.
If you don’t use up your full AI Subscription after 12 months, it will expire and you’ll need to buy it again (or you can just use your monthly free allowance instead).
We recommend monitoring your usage via your Arbor AI dashboard to understand how your school is using your free allowance each month.
How do we purchase an AI Subscription?
When you’re close to using up your Monthly Free Allowance, you’ll receive automated threshold notification emails at 80% usage, 90% usage and 100% usage. Simply respond to those emails and our team will get in touch to help you purchase an AI Subscription quickly so you don’t lose access. You can also email customersales@arbor-education.com for more information on subscriptions.
What happens once we buy an AI Subscription?
Once you buy an AI Subscription, you’ll still continue to receive your free allowance each month. After you’ve used that up, your school’s Arbor AI usage will automatically switch to use your AI Subscription balance instead.
If you don’t use up your full AI Subscription after 12 months, it will expire and you’ll need to buy it again (or you can just use your Monthly Free Allowance instead).
Does AI Subscription expire?
If you don’t use up your full AI Subscription after 12 months, it will expire and you’ll need to buy it again (or you can just use your Monthly Free Allowance instead)
Will new AI features be included in Monthly Free Allowance and AI Subscription?
We plan to keep adding new standard Arbor AI features to your MIS which will be included in your Monthly Free Allowance and AI Subscriptions, unless stated otherwise.
Is Auto Absence included in my Monthly Free Allowance and AI Subscription?
No, Auto Absence is handled differently from standard Arbor AI features. Read more about it here.
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