A resource unit (RU) is an independent measure of a resource related to the use of the IBM Cloud Service. Each 1,000 tokens processed by a model equals one (1) resource unit. A token is a unit of input and output content such as individual words, subwords or characters of a sentence used in both generation and training.

A Resource Unit (RU) serves as a pricing metric, gauging the resources utilized autonomously during the execution of automation workloads within the watsonX Orchestrate platform. These workloads may commence either through API calls or conversational AI.

The quantity of RUs expended is contingent on the execution of automation capabilities. Each RU category is individually metered daily and then aggregated monthly according to the specific RU type. This approach guarantees that you pay accurately for your actual usage.

• Essentials (USD 1,500/month includes 1,000 RUs)
  • Skill Runs: 100 = 1 RU
  • Monthly Active Users (MAU): 6 = 1 RU
  • Pages processed: 7 = 1 RU
  • Decision executions: 3 = 1 RU
  • Workflow activity executions: 10 = 1 RU
• Standard (USD 4,500/month includes 5000 RUs)
  • Skill Runs: 100 = 1 RU
  • Monthly Active Users (MAU): 6 = 1 RU
  • Pages processed: 7 = 1 RU
  • Decision executions: 3 = 1 RU
  • Workflow activity executions: 10 = 1 RU

• Skill Runs (Essentials and Standard)
  • A skill is a capability that is used to accomplish a piece of work, or a task. A skill flow is a collection of skills from different apps. A skill run represents the processing of a skill regardless of its complexity, whether it is composed of a single action or multiple actions. The conversation ratio is as follows: 100 Skill Runs: 1 Resource Unit (RU).
• Monthly Active Users (Essentials and Standard)
  • Employ natural language processing to understand user inputs and engage in conversations. Integrated with watsonx Orchestrate, Assistant Builder can be used to develop AI Assistants in building conversations with actions, which represent the tasks you want your assistant to help your customers with. Each action contains a series of steps that represent individual exchanges with a customer. The number of unique active users per month (MAUs) interacting with the AI assistants consume Resource Units.
  • A monthly active user (MAU) is any unique user who has at least one meaningful conversation with your assistant or custom application over the calendar billing month. A unique user is recognized by the user ID that is associated with the person who interacts with your assistant. The conversion ratio is as follows: 6 unique monthly active user (MAU) interactions: 1 Resource Unit (RU).
• Pages Processed (Standard only, part of Unified Automation Builder)
  • Ability to process documents through automation such as extracting information, interpreting content, and organizing data from various types of documents. The conversion ratio is as follows: 7 pages processed: 1 Resource Unit (RU).
• Decision Executions (Standard only, part of Unified Automation Builder)
  • Ability to model and manage business decisions in an easy-to-use, low-code UI. Integrated with watsonx Orchestrate’s conversational capabilities, users can more efficiently interact with the system, calling upon decision engines, and obtaining insights without the need for manual intervention. The conversion ratio is as follows: 3 decision executions: 1 Resource Unit (RU.
• Workflow Activity Executions (Standard only, part of Unified Automation Builder
  • Ability to create and execute workflows by automating repetitive, rule-based, or manual tasks. It involves the design, execution, and optimization of a series of interconnected tasks or processes within an organization. Benefits include improved productivity, reduction in errors, and accelerated task completion. The conversation ratio is as follows: 10 workflow activity executions: 1 Resource Unit (RU).

watsonX Orchestrate utilizes the Multi-Cloud SaaS Platform (MCSP) layer to measure RU and RU Types. Usage metrics are stored in Amazon RDS by MCSP, enabling the monitoring of consumption metrics vis-à-vis contract limits. Additionally, MCSP facilitates monitoring the remaining duration of a subscription. You will receive notifications when usage thresholds reach 80%, 90%, and 100%.

- Conversational Skills - A new generative AI feature that enables builders to call on skills in their conversations that automate specific tasks as part of a seamless conversational experience in natural language governed by deterministic business logic.

- Conversational Search - A new generative AI feature that uses native, no-code retrieval augmented generation (RAG) so that line-of-business users and SMEs can quickly add content from their knowledge base to their assistants to answer questions in natural conversation without manual authoring.

The Unified Automation Builder is a tool that allows teams to build automations quickly, wrap them as skills and extend the investments they have already made in automation tools by discovering their automations within watsonx Orchestrate and putting them to work across their organization. Leveraging Workflow, Decisions, Document processing, Systems integrations, and RPA, users can accelerate time-to-develop, time-to-deployment, and time-to-value. Users can also combine internal systems, third-party tools to accomplish and prebuilt skills to endless use cases across their business.

Decision Executions
Ability to model and manage business decisions in an easy-to-use, low-code UI. Integrated with watsonx Orchestrate’s conversational capabilities, users can more efficiently interact with the system, calling upon decision engines, and obtaining insights without the need for manual intervention. The conversion ratio is as follows: 3 decision executions: 1 Resource Unit (RU).

Workflow Activity Executions
Ability to create and execute workflows by automating repetitive, rule-based, or manual tasks. It involves the design, execution, and optimization of a series of interconnected tasks or processes within an organization. Benefits include improved productivity, reduction in errors, and accelerated task completion. The conversation ratio is as follows: 10 workflow activity executions: 1 Resource Unit (RU).

Document Processing
Ability to process documents through automation such as extracting information, interpreting content, and organizing data from various types of documents. The conversion ratio is as follows: 7 pages processed: 1 Resource Unit (RU).

Learn more about Automation Builder in watsonx Orchestrate.

IBM Assistant Builder is a visual tool that helps you create, customize, and deploy intelligent virtual assistants, also known as chatbots, without requiring coding expertise. It provides a drag-and-drop interface for building conversational experiences, integrating with external systems, and managing your virtual assistants. Learn more.

Users building skills will not consume RUs as we want to encourage teams to build AI Assistants and only consume resources once real value is realized. We believe that AI Assistants have the potential to revolutionize the way businesses operate, and we want to democratize access to this technology so that all companies can benefit. By making builder seats free, we remove the financial barrier that could prevent some businesses from experimenting with AI Assistants.

IBM Robotic Process Automation (RPA) is a technology that helps organizations automate repetitive, rule-based tasks across multiple applications and systems. It uses software robots, or "bots," to mimic the actions of human users, such as filling out forms, copying and pasting data, and interacting with applications. Learn more.