Introduction
Every time a learner runs an AI roleplay, one simulation is used from your organization's paid simulation balance. By default, that balance is one shared amount: any learner can use it, and you cannot limit who uses how much.
If your organization is split into franchises, regions or business units, a shared balance is hard to manage. One team can use up simulations that another team was counting on. Simulation pools solve this. A pool reserves a number of simulations for specific groups or branches, so each part of your organization can only use what you have set aside for it.
This article explains how simulations are counted, how to create and manage pools and what learners experience when no simulations are available to them. Learn more about creating roleplays in Creating and managing AI roleplays.
Requirements and limitations
- A Simulation Pack must be active for your organization.
- Only Superadmins can view and manage simulation pools. Power Users cannot access this area.
- Pools apply to the paid simulation balance only.
- A pool can include groups or branches, not both.
- Learners cannot see pool names, pool balances or allocation details.
- The report does not show consumption per user, and there are no low-balance notifications.
How simulations are counted
A simulation is one learner run of a roleplay that counts against your paid balance. AI roleplay does not use AI credits. Learn more about AI credits.
When a learner starts a simulation, the platform first checks whether the learner is allowed to start. This check does not use a simulation. A simulation is used only when the session reaches the point that counts as billable.
Understanding the balance
Your simulation balance has these parts:
| Part | Description |
| Organization balance | The total number of paid simulations your organization has remaining and has used. It includes simulations that are allocated to pools and simulations that are not. |
| Allocated | Simulations you have reserved across all pools. |
| Unallocated | Simulations that are part of the organization balance but not reserved for any pool. |
Every simulation that a learner uses reduces the organization balance, whether or not pools are in use.
How access works
Whether a learner can start a simulation depends on whether you have created any pools.
Before you create a pool, all learners can use the shared paid balance. You do not need to configure anything.
After you create the first pool, only learners who belong to an active pool that has simulations remaining can start a simulation. Simulations that are not allocated to a pool are not available to learners while pools are in use.
When you deactivate all pools, access returns to the shared balance, and all learners can use it again.
Please note: Creating your first pool changes access for your whole organization. Learners who are not in any active pool are blocked until you add them to a pool or until you deactivate all pools.
Viewing the Simulation pools page
To open the page, first open the AI roleplay section. Then click Manage and select Simulation pools.
The Simulation pools page shows the following:
| Area | What it shows |
| Simulation balance | The simulations available and used (the used simulations are tagged as purchased), and the number of simulations allocated to custom pools. |
| Custom pools | For each pool, the name, the beneficiaries (the groups or branches), the number of simulations allocated, consumed and remaining, and the status (Active or Inactive). |
Creating a pool
Creating a pool has two steps. On the Simulation pools page, click Create pool.
In the first step, Pool setup, define the pool:
| Field | Description |
| Simulation pool name | A name that identifies the audience, for example "North region". |
| Total simulation credits | The number of simulations reserved for the pool. |
| Beneficiary type | Choose Groups or Branches. |
In the second step, Beneficiaries, select one or more groups or branches, depending on the type you chose. Then confirm. The pool is created as Active.
Please note: A learner who belongs to a selected group or branch is eligible to use the pool. A learner can belong to more than one pool. Learn more in the section on how simulations are deducted below.
Editing and pausing a pool
On the pool card, open the pool settings icon. You can then edit the pool, or activate or deactivate it.
Editing a pool
Selecting Edit opens the same two steps as when you created the pool, with the saved values filled in. You can do the following:
- Rename the pool.
- Increase the number of simulations.
- Decrease the number of simulations, as long as the new total is not lower than the number already consumed.
- Add or remove groups or branches (beneficiaries).
Please note: You cannot change a pool from groups to branches or the other way round.
Pausing and reactivating a pool
Deactivating a pool stops it from authorizing learners. Its allocation and consumption history remain. Activate the pool again to restore access for its beneficiaries.
If you deactivate every pool, access returns to the shared balance for all learners.
How simulations are deducted
When a learner reaches the billable event, one simulation is deducted, as follows:
- Learner is in one active pool: the simulation is deducted from that pool.
- Learner is in several active pools: the simulation is deducted from the pool with the highest remaining balance. You cannot change this rule.
- Every deduction also reduces the organization balance by one. It is one consumption, counted at both levels.
- A pool with no simulations left cannot authorize new sessions. The learner is not moved to the shared balance, to unallocated simulations or to overage.
- When no pools exist, learners use the shared balance. If the purchased balance is used up, further usage is handled as overage according to your commercial terms.
Example 1: a franchise with two regions
An organization has a paid balance of 1,000 simulations and two regions, each set up as a branch. The Superadmin creates a pool called "North region" with 400 simulations and selects the North branch. Then the Superadmin creates a pool called "South region" with 300 simulations and selects the South branch. The remaining 300 simulations are unallocated.
As a result:
- Learners in the North branch use "North region". Learners in the South branch use "South region".
- Learners who belong to neither branch cannot start a simulation, because pools are in use.
- The 300 unallocated simulations are not available to any learner. To use them, the Superadmin increases a pool or creates a new one.
- After 50 simulations in the North branch, "North region" shows 350 remaining and the organization balance shows 950 remaining.
- If "South region" reaches 0, South learners are blocked. They do not use the North pool or the unallocated simulations.
Example 2: a learner in two pools
A Superadmin has two pools that use groups: "Sales onboarding" with 100 simulations remaining and "Sales leadership" with 40 simulations remaining. Maria belongs to both groups.
When Maria completes a billable session, the simulation is deducted from "Sales onboarding", because it has the highest remaining balance (100 compared with 40). The next time, the platform compares the balances again. If "Sales onboarding" now has 39 remaining and "Sales leadership" has 40, the deduction comes from "Sales leadership".
What learners see when blocked
A learner is blocked when pools are in use and the learner is not in an active pool with simulations remaining. The learner cannot access the roleplay.
If a learner reports this message, check the following. First, confirm that the learner belongs to a group or branch that is a beneficiary of an active pool. Next, confirm that the pool has simulations remaining. Then confirm that the pool status is Active.
Learners can also be blocked when no Simulation Pack is active. Learn more in AI roleplay FAQs and troubleshooting.
Limitations
- Learners cannot see pool names, pool balances or allocation details.
- There is no report of consumption per user.
- There are no low-balance notifications. Check the Simulation pools page regularly.
- A pool uses groups or branches, not both.
- The pool selection rule (highest remaining balance) is fixed and cannot be configured.
- A pool with no simulations left does not use overage.