Micro-SaaS: Making “Pay-Per-Task” AI Agents a Reality

Many essential services in our day-to-day (physical) lives operate on a simple pay-as-you-go basis, particularly those we use infrequently. For instance, when our car requires a one-off repair or an emergency plumbing issue arises, we usually hire a specialist for that particular job.

These transactions are generally straightforward and often don’t require us to create an account or share extensive personal details in order to access specialised skills when needed. This model is a cornerstone of traditional commerce.

However, the digital landscape of the new economy has taken a somewhat different turn. Many online services seem perpetually hungry for subscriptions. Users are pushed towards monthly or yearly commitments, even for services they only use sporadically.

It’s not unheard of to find yourself inadvertently paying $100 for a yearly subscription to a service that you only use once or twice a year for a simple task like converting a Word file to PDF, all because it was tied to a recurring payment. The point is that the model often doesn’t align with infrequent but necessary use.

The Challenge of Infrequent Use Services

This issue of infrequent use is a critical challenge for many digital services. Consider, for example, specialized consultancy, specific document preparation services, or even advanced data recovery tools. Users might need such a service critically, but only once a year…