Vertical AI priced by the work

The model

Definition

Vertical AI vendors price per discrete unit of professional output produced (a demand letter, a contract review, a legal matter) rather than per named user or seat, tying price to the volume of work actually done.

In one line

AI built for one profession is sold on the volume of professional work it produces (cases, matters, documents), not on the number of users.

What compounds

Each matter handled improves the product for the next, and firms route more of their work through it.

Who accelerates

Professionals handle more work per person; junior drafting work is absorbed.

What it displaces

Hourly junior labor inside law firms and legal process outsourcing.

Stops working when

If firms revert to flat enterprise licenses or build the same capability on general-purpose models. Note: per-unit price lists are not published; the pricing basis is inferred from contract language.