{
  "schema_version": "1.0",
  "surface_type": "guide_answer",
  "guide_id": "how-much-does-an-ai-agent-cost",
  "question": "How much does an AI agent cost?",
  "canonical_url": "https://www.unitcostai.com/guides/how-much-does-an-ai-agent-cost",
  "related_tool_url": "https://www.unitcostai.com/tools/ai-workflow-cost",
  "formula": "cost_per_user_month = generation + retrieval + reranking + embedding_ingestion_share + vector_db + cache + infra",
  "assumptions": [
    "This structure fits retrieval-heavy AI features and assistants especially well",
    "Cache is modeled as a signed savings term and can be negative",
    "Embedding refresh should be amortized across active users before it is treated as per-user cost",
    "Monthly cost should be paired with explicit requests-per-user assumptions"
  ],
  "example": "If generation is 1.8, retrieval is 0.6, reranking is 0.3, embedding_ingestion_share is 0.2, vector_db is 0.1, cache is -0.4, and infra is 0.2, cost_per_user_month is 2.8."
}