Named by Nikhil · viktor.com
Viktor
An 'AI employee' that lives in a company's Slack or Microsoft Teams (also Discord and a web app): the whole team @mentions him to get reports, research, dashboards, campaign changes and small apps done across 9,800+ connected tools. Priced per workspace in credits, not per seat.
Why it's here: Nikhil named it. It is the closest analog to Kite as an AI teammate living in Slack.
Where it stopped: No email sign-up: Viktor needs an existing Slack workspace or Microsoft Teams tenant. Slack refuses disposable domains, so no throwaway workspace could be made (steps 7-9), and Teams needs a Microsoft work account. Viktor's docs describe an email + code Discord path, but the sign-up page offered only Slack/Teams from this host (also tried ?platform=discord). Docs also say 'Throwaway (disposable) addresses get no free starter credits' (step 10). Steps 10-17 come from Viktor's public docs.
What would unblock it: Create an empty test Slack workspace with a real address Nikhil controls (e.g. a fresh Gmail or kite.ai alias; docs say a personal Gmail works), then 'Continue with Slack' as its admin. Never use Kite's real Slack: Viktor auto-joins public channels and DMs members. A real (non-disposable) address is also needed to receive the 'up to $100' starter credits.
What would unblock it: Create an empty test Slack workspace with a real address Nikhil controls (e.g. a fresh Gmail or kite.ai alias; docs say a personal Gmail works), then 'Continue with Slack' as its admin. Never use Kite's real Slack: Viktor auto-joins public channels and DMs members. A real (non-disposable) address is also needed to receive the 'up to $100' starter credits.
How they turn free users into paying ones
Viktor leads with a large, non-expiring free grant ('I'll front you up to $100'), with every feature unlocked, no card and no time limit. The trial ends only when the team has used it, and by then the whole workspace depends on him. Pricing is one shared credit pool per workspace with no seats, so adoption spreads freely, and the paywall arrives as an in-thread message at the moment of need. Members who hit it are routed to 'Ask an admin', with social pressure ('2 teammates are waiting on me'), and blocked requests resume automatically once credits arrive. After conversion, the levers push spend up automatically: 70/90% DMs with a run-out estimate, auto top-ups, and an opt-in auto-upgrade to the next plan offered right in the 90% message. Growth comes from credits-for-referrals and credits-for-creator-posts rather than discounts.
The flow, step by step
Click any screenshot to enlarge; use ← → to page through. Viewport 1440×900; tall pages are full-page captures. Steps marked docs come from public help pages, not the live app.
Monetization mechanics
| Trial / free offer | No time limit: a one-time grant of 'up to $100' in starter credits that never expire (the amount 'depends on how the workspace signed up'; disposable emails get none). When they run out, Viktor pauses until an admin picks a plan. |
|---|---|
| Card required | No ('No credit card required'; card only at Stripe Checkout when choosing a plan) |
| What free actually allows | Up to $100 of credits ≈ 40,000 credits ≈ 80-400 tasks by Viktor's own FAQ (quick Slack question 50-100 credits, deep research report 500-2,000). Every feature and integration is unlocked; the only free-tier limits are no top-ups, no rollover and half-speed tool/API rate limits. |
| How usage is shown | Billing & Credits page: plan card with 'Renews {date}' and a credits balance visible to everyone; admin-only Usage page with daily spend chart and per-conversation, per-scheduled-task, per-teammate and per-Space costs. Anyone can ask Viktor in chat ('Are we on track to run out before the reset?'); he answers from balance and average daily spend. Viktor DMs the payer/admin at 70% and 90% used with an estimated run-out date (step 16). |
| Discounts & annual nudges | No promos, countdowns or annual discount (annual plans were discontinued; monthly only). Flat $25/10,000 credits at every size, so no volume discount on self-serve. 15% nonprofit discount (step 5). Credits rather than discounts are the incentive: referrals pay 15-30% of the referred team's spend back as credits, and creators earn up to $15,000 in credits per qualifying post (step 17). |
| Sales assist | 'Book a Demo' in the header, on the pricing page and on the sign-up page; Enterprise via contact-sales (Viktor himself 'passes you to the sales team' if asked about Enterprise); Viktor Academy lessons ('Get Viktor working in a day'); a paid partner program of implementation specialists who onboard clients. |
| Time to value | Not measured (blocked). Docs: a 6-step wizard (install into Slack/Teams, pick channels, 2-3 questions, pick and connect tools, done), then Viktor sends his first DM in Slack with suggestions; the site claims 'Onboard in minutes'. |
| Aha moment | Per docs and the site: Viktor DMs you in Slack after setup and does real work in-thread with tools he found in your workspace ('Found in your Slack workspace' suggestions), e.g. a weekly performance PDF. Teammates see it happen in shared channels. |
| Account used | Not created. Sign-up is only 'Continue with Slack' or 'Continue with Microsoft Teams' (step 6). Creating a throwaway Slack workspace failed: Slack rejected viktor4zgm4z@maxxspace.com (mail.tm) and viktorexelpw@maildrop.cc (steps 8-9). |
| Geo note | Prices shown in USD from the India IP; no redirect. |
Plans
| Plan | Price | Billing | Includes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free (Starter) | $0 | 'up to $100 credits for free' (≈40,000 credits at the plan rate), one-time, 'Free credits never expire', 'Every feature, every integration. Nothing locked'; but no top-ups, no rollover, and 0.5x rate limits | |
| Team ('Most popular') | $100/month for 40,000 credits; slider 20,000 $50 … 80,000 $200 … up to 38,000,000 $95,000 | monthly only (annual plans discontinued) | Credits shared by the whole workspace (no per-seat charge), unused credits roll over 1 month, top-ups, auto top-ups with a monthly spend cap, auto-upgrade; flat $25 per 10,000 credits at every size; rate limit 1x/2x/4x by size |
| Enterprise | Custom | agreement | 'Book a Demo'; SSO, personal spend limits, 8x rate limits, minimum plan floor; discounts via sales |
Paywall triggers
- Starter credits exhausted → in-thread 'You've used your trial credits, so I've paused this task.' with Current plan, Credits remaining and 'Upgrade plan' (step 14)
- Members at zero: 'Your workspace is out of credits - your message is paused for now... Want me to ask them?' → 'Ask an admin' DMs admins; paused requests replay when credits return (within 8 h) (step 14)
- '⚠️ Right now, 2 teammates are waiting on me' added when others are blocked (step 14)
- 70% / 90% usage DMs; the 90% message asks what should happen at zero (auto-upgrade / auto top-up) (steps 15-16)
- Rate limit hit → 'Upgrading the workspace plan raises this limit to {m} calls per {window}' (free tier is 0.5x) (step 13)
- Top-ups and rollover locked on Starter ('Top-up credits unavailable', 'Credit roll-over unavailable' on the plan card) (step 12)
- API keys/MCP access need a paid plan (llms.txt; no shot)
Upgrade prompts & copy
- Site header 'Get Started for Free' + 'Book a Demo'; hero 'Not a tool. A hire.' (step 1)
- Pricing hero 'I'll front you up to $100. Put me to work.' with 'No credit card / Cancel any time / Onboard in minutes' (step 2)
- Sign-up: 'Try Viktor for free. Up to $100 in credits.' + 'Book a demo' (step 6)
- In-app Billing & Credits: plans shown directly when there's no subscription; 'Upgrade your plan' → 'Choose your plan' → Stripe Checkout; app.viktor.com/plan 'Choose Your Viktor Plan' (step 12)
- In-thread 'Upgrade plan' and 'Set up auto top-up' buttons at zero; 'Upgrade automatically next time we run out' when upgrading from chat (steps 14-15)
- Billing banner 'Viktor is paused. Your team has used all credits for this cycle.' (step 14)
Lifecycle emails
- None arrived during the run.
What Kite could take from it
- Put the upgrade prompt where the blocked work is (the Slack thread or chat) and let a non-paying teammate escalate to the payer with one click ('Ask an admin'); saving and auto-resuming the blocked request makes paying feel like un-pausing, not starting over.
- Offer auto-upgrade and auto top-up inside the 90% usage warning, with a run-out date estimate, so converted teams scale spend without a new purchase decision.
- A big, non-expiring dollar grant ('up to $100') with nothing locked is the opposite of a 7-day clock; it suits team products where value compounds as more people use it. Kite should decide deliberately between this and Town/Lindy-style time-boxed trials for AM-106.
- Withhold free credits from disposable emails (Viktor: 'Throwaway addresses get no free starter credits') to protect a generous grant from abuse without adding a card wall.
Caveats: No account was created, so the wizard, Billing page, meter and paywall messages come from Viktor's public docs (steps 10-16), not observation. The exact starter grant is 'up to $100'; docs say it depends on how the workspace signed up and disposable addresses get none. Docs say some workspaces see $100/month as the smallest plan. The Discord email sign-up in the docs was not offered on the sign-up page during this run. No emails were received.