Source page: McKinsey & Company
Commentary
The AI price is right
Artificial Intelligence | Technology
November 11, 2025 – As AI becomes embedded into software workflows, businesses are considering whether pricing meters—such as seat-based subscriptions versus enterprise-wide flat fees—reflect the value they deliver. Partner Mohit Khanna and coauthors explain that incumbents primarily rely on flat fees, while AI natives lean toward activity consumption-based models. Both groups use successful outcome and capacity-based metrics to a lesser extent. Failure to adopt the right pricing meter could leave revenue on the table or misalign pricing with customer expectations.
To read the article, see “Upgrading software business models to thrive in the AI era,” September 22, 2025.
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Visual form
Two-panel stacked-column comparison of software pricing metrics.
Layout / body structure
The chart is organized as two side-by-side columns, with incumbents on the left and AI natives on the right. The stacked blocks sit above a legend-and-examples strip that explains what each pricing metric means and names a representative company example for each category.
What is being compared
It compares the pricing models used by incumbent software providers and AI-native software providers, separating flat-fee models from capacity-based, activity-consumption, and successful-outcome pricing.
Measurement system
The values are percentages of company type. Each colored segment is labeled directly inside the stacked columns, and the legend below ties each color to its pricing metric and example.
Visible structure inside the graphic
The left column is dominated by a large dark-navy flat-fee block, with smaller blue, magenta, and cyan blocks above it. The right column is more evenly divided, with a large activity-consumption block, a smaller flat-fee base, and additional capacity and successful-outcome segments. The bottom panel lists the metric definitions and example companies in four vertical legend groups.
Main takeaway from the visual
Incumbents still rely heavily on flat-fee pricing, while AI natives use a much more mixed pricing structure and lean far more toward consumption-based charging.
Key standout values or extremes
The flat-fee share is 68 percent for incumbents versus 35 percent for AI natives. Activity-consumption pricing is 40 percent for AI natives but only 17 percent for incumbents, while capacity pricing is 15 percent for AI natives versus 13 percent for incumbents and successful-outcome pricing appears at 10 percent for AI natives versus 2 percent for incumbents.
Controls / sequence, when applicable
This is a static chart image with no in-chart controls to operate.
Companion media, when applicable
There is no separate companion audio or video; the chart image is the full visual on this page.