What an ASU is
One ASU is one applied science agent, working one sitting.
- A program/agent studio run is billed by crew size. Eight child agents is eight ASUs.
- The lead agent is not billed. Its planning and review are built into the price.
- A new instruction opens a new sitting. Come back next day with something new to investigate and the workspace reopens, which is a new sitting.
- Calendar time is not billed. A programme can stay open for weeks. You pay for the sittings the agents actually work.
What spends an ASU
What costs nothing
The exclusions matter more than the rates, because they are the part you cannot guess.A worked month
Illustrative only. Your month depends on how many systems you connect and how much science you run.
The expensive line is the System Book, and it is a one-off per system. The month after, the same team spends nothing on books and everything on applied science work.
Staying in control
1
Approve the plan before it runs
A programme’s lead shows you the modules before the work starts. That number is the cost, so you see the bill before you agree to it.
2
Read the Journal
Every step an agent takes is visible in the Journal, so a sitting is auditable rather than a number on a statement.
3
Talk instead of re-running
Questions about work that is already done are free. Ask for the reasoning behind a finding before you commission a new investigation of it.
Questions
Why not price per token?
Why not price per token?
Because nobody can forecast token spend, and because it would mean Pavo’s revenue rising whenever its own systems are inefficient. An ASU is tied to something you can see and count: one agent, one sitting, every step visible in the Journal.It also means that when Pavo’s agents get cheaper to run, you keep a predictable price and Pavo keeps the improvement. Neither side is renegotiating every time a model provider changes its rate card.
How do I know the included allowance is enough?
How do I know the included allowance is enough?
Your plan states the allowance in ASUs and in plain terms: roughly how many programmes and tasks a month it covers. Tell us how many surfaces you want improved and how many hypotheses your team wants tested each month, and we will size it on the call.
What if a programme runs for weeks?
What if a programme runs for weeks?
That is normal, and it is how the good ones go. A programme stays open: you review results, push back, ask for more, and it keeps working.You are charged for the sittings the agents actually work, not for the calendar time the programme stays open. Conversation about work that is already done is free. When a follow-up needs genuinely new investigation, the lead shows you the crew before it starts.
This page describes how Pavo meters work and its standard rates. Your own allowance and rates are the ones stated in your agreement and order form.
Next steps
Pricing
Plans, terms, add-ons, and what every plan includes.
Programs, plans & modules
How a programme is framed, approved, and broken into the work a crew runs.