Implementing a Unified Credit Conversion System for AI Services

Introduction

Managing costs associated with AI-powered features, such as text, image, and video generation, can be complex. Our platform needed a unified system to convert these costs into credits, manage profit margins, and track consumption effectively.

The Challenge

Previously, our credit system lacked a standardized approach. Calculating costs for various AI services (text, image, video) was inconsistent, making it difficult to manage profitability and monitor user consumption accurately. We needed a provider-agnostic solution that could adapt to different AI service pricing models.

The Solution

We implemented a unified credit conversion system that introduces a CreditSetting model to store pack sizes, pack prices, and margin percentages. A CreditConversionService handles the USD-to-credits conversion for different AI generation types (text, image, video). An AiUsageService tracks usage and provides monthly breakdowns.

class CreditConversionService
{
    public function convertUsdToCredits(string $serviceType, float $usdCost): float
    {
        $creditSetting = $this->getCreditSetting($serviceType);
        $margin = $creditSetting->margin_percentage / 100; 
        //Ensure credit price is non-zero
        $creditPrice = $creditSetting->pack_price / $creditSetting->pack_size ?: 0.01; // Avoid division by zero, use a small default value
        //Apply profit margin and convert
        return $usdCost * (1 + $margin) / $creditPrice;
    }

    private function getCreditSetting(string $serviceType): object
    {
        //Fetch credit settings from DB, with a fallback
        $setting = (object) [
            'pack_size' => 100, 
            'pack_price' => 10, 
            'margin_percentage' => 20
        ];
        return $setting;
    }
}

This code snippet illustrates how the CreditConversionService converts USD costs to credits, incorporating a profit margin based on configurable settings. The getCreditSetting method fetches the credit settings from the database or uses fallback values.

Key Components

1. CreditSetting Model: Stores credit pack sizes, prices, and margin percentages.
2. CreditConversionService: Provides a unified USD-to-credits conversion for text (tokens), image (per-use), and video (per-second) generation.
3. AiUsageService: Tracks AI service usage, replacing the old token-based service, and provides monthly usage breakdowns.
4. ContentGenerationService: Now tracks costs and deducts credits when generating images or other content.
5. Filament Admin Pages: Allow configuration of margins and provide consumption dashboards.

Results

• Standardized credit calculation across all AI services.
• Improved profit margin management with configurable settings.
• Enhanced tracking of user consumption for better resource allocation.

Lessons Learned

A unified credit system is crucial for managing costs and profitability in AI-powered platforms. Configurable margins and detailed usage tracking provide valuable insights for optimizing pricing and resource allocation. Regularly audit credit settings to prevent unintended manipulation of credit price.