> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.gumloop.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# How Do I Reduce Agent Credit Spend?
Find the agents that spend the most, then fix those agents. This page is about **agents**. How a chat is priced: [Credits](/core-concepts/credits).
Usage & Limits on every plan. Insights on Enterprise.
Skills, model, context, unused work, then BYOK.
***
## 1. Find the spend
| Who | Where | What to do |
| ----------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Anyone | [Settings > Profile > Usage & Limits](https://www.gumloop.com/settings/profile/usage-limits) | Stay on **Grouped view**. Filter **Agent Chats**. Open high-cost rows. Many have a **View** link. |
| Admin or manager | [Settings > Organization > Usage & Limits](https://www.gumloop.com/settings/organization/limits) | Same logs for everyone, plus a **User** column. |
| Enterprise (**Admin**, **Manager**, or **Analytics**) | [Settings > Organization > Insights](https://www.gumloop.com/settings/organization/insights) | **Overview** (top agents). **Agents** (ranked by credits). **Explorer** (group by agents or members). **Agent** in the toolbar to ask in plain language. |
In any chat, select the credit count next to the name. You will see **Chat & Reasoning**, **Tool Calls**, **Compute**, **Orchestration Fee**, and any other types that chat was charged for.
[Where to see what a chat cost](/core-concepts/credits#where-to-see-what-a-chat-cost) · [Organization Insights](/enterprise-features/organization_insights)
***
## 2. Lower it per agent
Work the expensive agents first.
| Do this | When it helps |
| --------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------- |
| [Add a skill](#add-a-skill) | No playbook — it guesses every chat |
| [Check the model](#check-the-model) | Pinned to a frontier model, or on **Auto** |
| [Cut what it reads](#cut-what-it-reads) | Long threads or too many connectors |
| [Stop unused work](#stop-unused-work) | Triggers, evaluations, or reflections you do not need |
| [Ask the agent](#ask-the-agent) | You want it to find retries and save the fix |
| [Use your own key](#use-your-own-key) | Optional. You already pay a model provider |
***
### Add a skill
Most agents have no skills. Without a playbook, the agent guesses your process every chat — extra tool calls, extra retries, extra tokens.
1. Open the agent’s **Skills** section.
2. Select **+ Skill**.
3. After a chat that went well, tell it: *“Turn this into a skill”* or *“Update your instructions so you always do it this way.”*
It sees names and descriptions up front. It only loads the full playbook when it needs it.
If instructions are more than about 200 words and do not apply to every conversation, put them in a skill — not the system prompt. The system prompt is always loaded in full.
[Agent Skills](/core-concepts/skills) · [Self-improving instructions](/core-concepts/agents#self-improving-instructions)
***
### Check the model
Open **Agent Preferences**.
| Choice | When it helps |
| ------------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------ |
| **Recommended** | Everyday work. Start here. |
| **Smartest** | Only when the task needs deep reasoning |
| **Auto** | Messages that vary a lot. Gumloop picks a model per message. |
| A specific cheaper model | You have pinned a frontier model and the work is simple |
**Auto** is Gumloop’s model router, not a provider model. It already aims for the cheapest tier that should still do the job, and it can move up mid-run. Pinning a cheaper model on an Auto agent is not always a win: easy messages may already be cheap, and hard ones may get worse.
If you pin a model, pick the smallest one that still does the work.
[Choose the Right AI Model](/help/using-agents/choose-the-right-ai-model) · [Auto](/core-concepts/ai_models#auto-let-gumloop-choose-the-model)
***
### Cut what it reads
**Chat & Reasoning** is usually most of the bill. Longer chats and extra tools both add tokens.
| Change | Why |
| ------------------------------------------------------------------ | ---------------------------------------------------- |
| Connect only the connectors it needs | Every tool definition is added to the prompt |
| Start a **new chat** for a new topic | Old context is not carried forward |
| Watch the **context usage meter** (bottom-right of the chat input) | Hover it for System, Tools, Skills, and Conversation |
| On GPT-5.6 and Grok 4.5/4.6, pick the smaller **Context Window** | Keeps chats under the long-context price boundary |
**Context Window** is in **AI Advanced Settings**: **Advanced** in Agent Preferences, **Model** tab.
[Connectors](/core-concepts/agents#connectors) · [Context usage meter](/core-concepts/agents#context-usage-meter) · [Short vs. long context windows](/core-concepts/agents#short-vs-long-context-windows)
***
### Stop unused work
| Turn off | How |
| --------------- | ------------------------------------------ |
| Unused triggers | **Deactivate** so they do not fire or poll |
| Evaluations | They spend credits as AI utilities |
| Reflections | They spend credits like other agent work |
Leave evaluations and reflections on if they are useful.
[Stop a Scheduled Trigger](/help/skills-triggers-mcp/stop-a-scheduled-trigger) · [Evaluations](/core-concepts/evaluations#credits-and-costs) · [Reflections](/core-concepts/reflections)
***
### Ask the agent
In chat, ask which tools it is retrying, which steps it could skip, and to save the fix in a skill or its instructions.
On a schedule, **Reflections** reviews recent chats for patterns such as inefficient tool usage and proposes skill or instruction changes.
[Reflections](/core-concepts/reflections)
***
### Use your own key
Optional. Bring-your-own-key (BYOK) sets **Chat & Reasoning** to 0 credits — you pay the provider instead.
| Still billed | Change |
| ---------------------- | ------------------------- |
| Tool calls and compute | Same as usual |
| Orchestration fee | **16%** instead of **8%** |
[Use your own LLM key](/help/connectors/use-your-own-llm-key)
***
## FAQ
If the agent is on **Auto**, Gumloop already routes easy messages to cheaper models. Check the chat’s models list and credit breakdown to see what actually ran. Pin a specific model only when you want every run to use that model.
Open the credit count in the chat header. Long threads, many connected tools, retries, paid enrichment tools, and frontier models all raise **Chat & Reasoning** and **Tool Calls**. A new chat for a new topic is often the fastest cut.
Your own logs: [Settings > Profile > Usage & Limits](https://www.gumloop.com/settings/profile/usage-limits). All members: [Settings > Organization > Usage & Limits](https://www.gumloop.com/settings/organization/limits) (admin or manager). Insights dashboards: Enterprise, plus **Admin**, **Manager**, or **Analytics**.
***
## Related
How a chat is billed, and the built-in cost tips
Leaderboards, Explorer, and the analytics agent
Playbooks that load only when needed
Recommended, Smartest, and Auto