Getting started with AI usage and metering

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This topic shows how new users sign in, set up their organization, register Db2 Genius Hub and use the API key that Db2 as a Service (Db2 SaaS) dashboard generates for Db2 Genius Hub.

About this task

When you use agentic AI features in Db2 Genius Hub, workloads consume AI tokens. Db2 as a Service (Db2 SaaS) dashboard provides a centralized experience to view AI token usage, monitor consumption trends, manage organization members and roles, and connect Genius Hub instances for secure usage reporting.

Restriction: This capability is available only to customers who use the IBM‑managed AI inference option. Customers using self‑managed inference do not use Db2 SaaS for token monitoring.

How token consumption works

  • AI tokens are used whenever Db2 Genius Hub performs AI inference.
  • Token usage is sent securely to Db2 SaaS for metering and reporting.
  • Tokens are free until July 4, 2027. After this date, organizations can purchase additional token packs.

Roles

Roles determine what members can do in your organization:

  • Admin: Full access; manage resources and invite users.
  • Contributor: Create and modify resources.
  • Read only: View resources and usage.
Important: Each organization can create multiple tenants. The tenant stores token usage data, Genius Hub API configuration, and organization settings.

What you can do

  • View token consumption over time
  • Understand usage trends for capacity planning and budgeting
  • Generate and manage the API key for Db2 Genius Hub integration
  • Manage organizations, users, and roles
  • Monitor usage for each connected Db2 Genius Hub instance

Prerequisites

You need:

  • An IBMid
  • A Db2 Genius Hub instance configured with IBM‑managed AI inference

Procedure

  1. Sign in with your IBMid at db2.ibm.com or login to Db2 Genius Hub if you are a registered user.
  2. Create your organization.
    1. When prompted, enter an organization name.
    2. Provide your role and intended usage details for Db2 products by answering a group of optional questions.
      Note: After signing in using the profile icon on the far right, you can switch between light mode and dark mode to view the UI with a white or black background, respectively.
    3. Proceed to complete organization creation. You are assigned as the Admin role.
  3. Invite users and assign roles.
    1. Add users by email.
    2. Assign each user one of the available roles: Admin, Contributor, or Read only.
  4. Register your Db2 Genius Hub instance.
    1. Go to the 'Manage AI Config section' to learn how to configure your Db2 Genius Hub instance through db2.ibm.com, and then follow the steps provided
    2. Once you complete the above steps, you will be able to view token usage data, Genius Hub API configuration, and organization settings. In the token usage section, both input and output tokens are displayed.

      The dashboard provides:

      • Token usage trends
      • Daily and cumulative token counts
      • Graphs showing consumption over time
      • Input and output token details

      You can access the dashboard from the home page or through Usage in the left navigation.

    3. Users can also look at the Db2 Genius Hub instances that are attached to this organization.
  5. Proceed to connect Db2 Genius Hub.
    1. Continue with the connection steps to enable secure usage reporting from Genius Hub to Db2 as a Service dashboard.

Results

After onboarding is complete, you can view consumption trends, monitor usage per connected Genius Hub instance, and manage organizations, users, roles, and API keys from Db2 SaaS dashboard.

For more information, see the Db2 Genius Hub documentation.