Chapter 30: Subscription & Billing — Unlocking SeaMeet AI

Think of SeaMeet's subscription like a library card. The library (the app) is open to everyone—you can record and manage files for free. The AI reference section requires a card, and the card is your subscription. Once you have it, everything in that section is available to you.

This chapter explains how subscription tiers work, how to subscribe, and what happens to AI features depending on your plan status.

Chapter Objectives

After reading this chapter, you will be able to:

Understand what AI features require a subscription
Choose the right plan for your needs
Complete the subscription flow from first launch to active
Know what to expect when viewing AI features while not subscribed
Manage your subscription and billing

Who Needs a Subscription?

SeaMeet's core recording features are always available without an account:

Audio and video recording (all modes)
Flashback recording
Auto-detection
Screenshot capture
Recording library and playback
File import

AI features require an active subscription:

Live Transcription (Chapter 27)
AI Extraction — summaries, action items, decisions, chapters (Chapter 28)
AI Agent for screenshots and images
Version history for AI results (Chapter 29)

If you try to access any AI feature without a subscription, you will see a lock icon (🔒) and a prompt to subscribe.

Available Plans

SeaMeet offers the following plans:

┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                       SEAMEET PLANS                          │
├──────────────┬───────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│  Free        │  Core recording, no AI features               │
├──────────────┼───────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│  BYOK Pro    │  AI Summary + AI Agent using your own API     │
│              │  keys (Bring Your Own Key)                    │
│              │  ★ First month free: coupon SEAMEET100         │
│              │    (first 100 subscribers)                    │
├──────────────┼───────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│  Desktop Pro │  Coming soon                                  │
├──────────────┼───────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│  Sync Pro    │  Coming soon — cloud sync and collaboration   │
└──────────────┴───────────────────────────────────────────────┘

BYOK Pro is the current paid tier. "BYOK" stands for Bring Your Own Key — you supply your own Gemini API key for AI Summary and configure an AI Agent provider (either GitHub Copilot or Claude Code). This keeps your data private, gives you control over your AI provider, and avoids SeaMeet having to charge for AI usage directly.

See Chapter 31 for how to set up your AI providers after subscribing.

Step 1: Open the Billing UI

You can reach the subscription screen from several places:

Click any locked AI feature — you'll see a lock icon 🔒 and a "Subscribe" button
Go to Settings → Account and click Upgrade
Open the account menu (👤 in the top navigation) and select Manage Subscription

You must be signed in to subscribe. SeaMeet supports three sign-in methods:

Google — sign in with your Google account
GitHub — sign in with your GitHub account
Microsoft — sign in with your Microsoft / Azure account

Click your preferred provider to open the sign-in flow in your browser. After authenticating, you'll be redirected back to SeaMeet automatically.

Step 3: Choose a Plan

The plan selection screen shows the available tiers. Click on a plan card to see full details:

Features tab (default): Checklist of what's included
Data & Privacy tab: How your recording data and AI data are handled
Help Me Choose tab: Bullet-point recommendations for who each plan suits

Click Subscribe on your chosen plan to continue to checkout.

Step 4: Complete Checkout

You'll be taken to the Stripe payment page. Enter your payment details to complete the subscription.

Launch promo: Use coupon code SEAMEET100 at checkout for your first month free. Limited to the first 100 subscribers.

Step 5: Set Up API Keys

After subscribing, you'll be taken to the API Keys setup wizard. This is where you enter your Gemini API key and choose your AI Agent provider. See Chapter 31 for step-by-step instructions.

What Changes After Subscribing

Once your subscription is active, the lock icons disappear and AI features become accessible:

Before subscribing	After subscribing
🔒 Live Transcription locked	✅ Live Transcription available
🔒 AI Extraction locked	✅ Generate Summary works
🔒 AI Agent locked	✅ Agent features available
No API key settings visible	API key settings visible in Settings → AI
"Subscribe" CTA buttons	Normal AI feature buttons

Note: Even after subscribing, AI features only work once valid API keys are configured. If you see "Configure API Key" instead of a lock icon, you have an active subscription but haven't set up your keys yet. See Chapter 31.

AI Feature Lock Icons

If a feature is locked, you'll see one of two states:

Not subscribed:

🔒 Lock icon on the button or panel
"Subscribe to unlock AI features" message
Clicking leads to the subscription screen

Subscribed but no API key:

"Configure API Key" button (no lock icon)
Clicking opens Settings → AI → API Keys
Follow Chapter 31 to complete setup

Viewing the Billing Page

To see your subscription status, renewal date, and payment method:

Open Settings (⚙️)
Navigate to Account or Billing
The billing panel shows:
- Current plan name
- Subscription status (Active / Trialing / Cancelled)
- Next renewal date
- Manage Billing button → opens Stripe customer portal in browser

From the Stripe portal, you can update payment methods, download invoices, or cancel.

Cancelling

Cancelling stops future charges but keeps your subscription active until the end of the current billing period. After expiry:

AI features are locked again
Your recordings and transcripts remain accessible
No data is deleted

To cancel: Settings → Billing → Manage Billing → Cancel Subscription in the Stripe portal.

Quick Reference

┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│               SUBSCRIPTION & BILLING                        │
│                   Quick Reference                           │
├────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│  Free tier         │ Recording, playback, no AI            │
│  BYOK Pro          │ AI features with your own API keys    │
│  Launch promo      │ Coupon SEAMEET100 — first month free  │
├────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│  Sign in with      │ Google / GitHub / Microsoft           │
│  Payment via       │ Stripe (credit/debit card)            │
│  Manage billing    │ Settings → Account → Manage Billing   │
├────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│  AI locked 🔒      │ Need to subscribe                     │
│  "Configure key"   │ Subscribed but no API key set         │
│  AI available ✅   │ Subscribed + API key valid            │
├────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│  Cancel            │ Active until period end, no deletion  │
└────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Last updated: 2026-03-20

← Chapter 29: Editing AI Results | Chapter 31: BYOK Setup Guide →

Subscription & Billing - Unlocking SeaMeet AI