If a subscription or overage payment fails, your AI Employee is not switched off straight away. Newo.ai retries the payment automatically, limits your AI Employee first, and only blocks it if the payment stays unresolved. This article explains each stage, what your AI Employee can still do, and how service comes back.
The stages
Stage | What you see on the Billing page | What your AI Employee can do |
Active | No banner | Everything on your plan |
Limited | Agent limited. Your agent usage is limited until payment is received. | A reduced number of sessions per day |
Blocked | Agent blocked. Your agent has been blocked. | Nothing — no calls, chat, or SMS, inbound or outbound. Your phone number is still held for you |
Removed | Your AI Employee is no longer available | Nothing — the phone number is released |
Your AI Employee moves through these in order. It is limited before it is blocked, and it is only removed if the payment is never resolved.
Important: The number of days at each stage and the daily allowance while limited are set by Newo.ai and can change. Treat the order of the stages as fixed and the timings as something to check on your Billing page rather than assume.
What keeps happening in the background
Throughout the limited and blocked stages:
Newo.ai retries the payment automatically each day. You do not need to trigger a retry.
Your configuration is untouched — your AI Employee's setup, knowledge, and settings are all preserved.
Your phone number stays assigned to you until the point of removal.
How to fix it
Update your payment method. That is the whole fix in most cases.
In the Portal sidebar, click Billing.
Click the action on the banner at the top of the page. It opens Manage Payment Methods, including when the action reads Learn more.
Add a new card, or make a working saved card the default.
You can do this while your AI Employee is blocked — being blocked does not lock you out of the Billing page.
Note: Only the organization Owner can change payment methods. Every other role sees the banner without an action. See Manage your payment methods.
How service is restored
Service is restored automatically once all three of these are true:
Every unpaid invoice has been paid.
A valid payment method is on file.
Your latest billing status is Paid.
Your AI Employee is re-enabled on its own, with its existing configuration intact. There is nothing to reconfigure, and you do not need to contact support to be switched back on.
Why a payment fails
The most common causes are an expired card, a card that was removed or replaced, or a declined charge from the bank. Newo.ai warns you before some of these become a problem:
Card expires soon. — shown ahead of your default card's expiry date, so you can replace it before a charge fails.
Invalid payment method. — shown when there is no usable payment method on the account.
Acting on either banner avoids the failure entirely.
If you are managed by a partner
If a partner organization manages your account, they can see your subscription status and help you get back to Active, but they cannot enter your card details for you. Adding or updating the payment method is always done from your own Billing page.