intercom-cost-tuning

# Intercom Cost Tuning ## Overview Reduce Intercom API costs through smart caching, search optimization, webhook-driven architecture, and usage monitoring. Intercom pricing is primarily seat-based and feature-based, but API efficiency reduces infrastructure costs and avoids rate limits. ## Intercom Pricing Model | Component | Pricing Basis | Cost Driver | |-----------|--------------|-------------| | Seats | Per agent/month | Number of teammates | | Fin AI Agent | Per resolution | AI-handled conversations | | Proactive Support | Per message sent | Outbound messages volume | | Help Center | Included | N/A | | API | Included (rate-limited) | Request volume determines infra cost | **Key insight:** The API itself is free to use, but hitting rate limits (10K req/min) forces you to build queuing infrastructure. Reducing requests saves engineering time and infrastructure costs. ## Instructions ### Step 1: Audit Current API Usage ```typescript // Instrument all API calls to track usage patterns class IntercomUsageTracker { private calls = new Map<string, { count: number; totalMs: number }>(); track(endpoint: string, durationMs: number): void { const existing = this.calls.get(endpoint) || { count: 0, totalMs: 0 }; existing.count++; existing.totalMs += durationMs; this.calls.set(endpoint, existing); } report(): void { console.log("\n=== Intercom API Usage Report ==="); const sorted = [...this.calls.entries()].sort((a, b) => b[1].count - a[1].cou...