Usage Limits

When you're chatting with Cliff, you may occasionally bump into a limit that pauses what you're doing. There are two different kinds, and they work in very different ways. Knowing the difference makes it easier to plan your conversations and get the most out of your subscription.

Usage limits

A usage limit controls how much you can do with Cliff over a stretch of time — think of it as a budget for the day or the week. Every time you send a message, ask Cliff to look something up on the web, or have it draft a document, you're spending a little of that budget. When the budget runs out, you'll need to wait for it to reset before you can keep going.

Cliff actually keeps two of these budgets running at once:

• A session budget, which covers a stretch of continuous activity. If you take a long enough break, your next message starts a fresh session at zero. If you keep going non-stop, it keeps climbing.
• A weekly budget, which covers the whole week and resets every Sunday at 3:00 PM Eastern Time.

You can check both at any time under Account → Usage, where each one shows as a percentage with a countdown to its next reset. When either one reaches 100%, the chat box pauses until that meter resets — your existing conversations stay readable, you just can't send new messages on that meter for a bit.

A few things affect how quickly you spend your budget:

• The length and depth of your conversations. Longer back-and-forth uses more than a quick question.
• The features you use in a given message. Asking Cliff to search the web, read a webpage, or create a document does more work behind the scenes than a plain reply, so each of those costs a bit more.
• The model you're chatting with. Cliff lets you pick between heavier and lighter AI models. Heavier models are smarter and more careful, but they spend your budget noticeably faster. Lighter models are quicker and cheaper to run, so the same budget goes further. We recommend leaving the model picker on Auto for most people — Cliff will choose a sensible default that balances quality and budget for everyday use.

If you'd like to stretch your usage further, the simplest move is to stick with Auto (or pick a lighter model) for everyday questions, and only switch to a heavier model for tasks where the extra horsepower really helps — things like a tricky writing project or a complicated decision you're working through.

If you'd rather not wait for the reset, upgrading your plan raises both budgets right away. Pro gives you more headroom than the trial, and Pro Plus gives you the most. See the billing page for the details.

A few habits that help

A handful of small choices can make both kinds of limit feel less restrictive:

• Leave it on Auto unless you have a reason not to. Auto picks a sensible model for most messages and keeps your budget from disappearing on small talk. Reach for a heavier model when you want careful reasoning or a polished piece of writing.
• Start a fresh chat for a new topic. Long-running conversations carry all their history with them, which uses more of your budget on every message. A new chat for a new subject keeps things lean.
• Be specific in one good message instead of ten vague ones. Cliff can usually do more with a single clear request than with a long volley of small ones.

The big picture

Usage limits exist so Ask Cliff can stay fast and reliable. With a little awareness of what eats into your budget — long chats, heavier models, web searches and document edits — most people never feel them.