137. What Seat Are You Paying For?

What does it take to turn AI from an exciting innovation into a business model that actually delivers value? On this episode of TECHtonic, Thomas Lah walks through TSIA’s AI pricing ladder with Alon Talmor, founder and CEO of Mosaic AI, to unpack how companies can move beyond traditional seat-based pricing and start monetizing the work AI gets done. After selling his first startup to Salesforce and earning a PhD in natural language processing, Alon saw an opportunity to use AI to fundamentally transform technical support and how engineers tackle complex challenges.

Alon shares how Mosaic AI takes a different approach to AI adoption, starting with an in-depth look at how support engineers work to identify the highest-impact automation opportunities. Thomas then connects this approach to a bigger question facing technology companies: How do you price AI based on the value it creates? Together, they discuss why understanding the work, defining success with customers, and measuring the right productivity metrics are critical to building an AI business model that works.

But pricing is only part of the equation. They also tackle what it takes to drive adoption, bring experienced engineers along on the AI journey, and rethink the economics of software in a world where AI does more of the work. From outcome-based pricing to the future of technical support, this conversation challenges some long-standing assumptions about how technology companies sell and deliver value. The big takeaway? If AI is changing how work gets done, it’s time to rethink how you charge for it.