Enforce POC limits automatically – no more endless free rides.
Enterprise teams trap AI tool providers in endless free POCs without ever committing to paid contracts.
TrialGuard wraps your AI API with strict usage gates, auto-watermarking outputs and throttling after POC thresholds. It forces prospects to upgrade or negotiate during the trial, with one-click paid conversion flows. Sales teams get notified of limit hits for immediate follow-up.
AI SaaS startups and mid-sized companies selling enterprise-grade AI tools
Seamless API proxy with zero-code integration, plus built-in watermarking tailored for AI outputs.
edgy
Proxy your AI endpoints with limits
Set calls/tokens per POC
Add invisible watermarks to AI outputs
Block access post-limit with upgrade prompt
Inline Stripe checkout from error page
Pre-built POC durations/plans
Branded upgrade messages
Summary of throttled POCs
| Column | Type | Nullable |
|---|---|---|
| id | uuid | No |
| text | No | |
| api_key | text | No |
| created_at | timestamp | No |
Relationships:
| Column | Type | Nullable |
|---|---|---|
| id | uuid | No |
| user_id | uuid | No |
| poc_key | text | No |
| max_calls | int | No |
| expires_at | timestamp | Yes |
Relationships:
| Column | Type | Nullable |
|---|---|---|
| id | uuid | No |
| poc_id | uuid | No |
| tokens_used | int | No |
| response | text | Yes |
| timestamp | timestamp | No |
Relationships:
/api/proxy/:pocKey/:endpointProxy AI API call with limits
/api/pocsCreate POC with limits
/api/pocsList POCs and usage
1k calls/mo
50k calls/mo
Unlimited
| Month | Users | Conversion | MRR | ARR |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month 1 | 40 | 5% | $80 | $960 |
| Month 6 | 250 | 10% | $2,500 | $30,000 |
Auto-limits + watermarks convert trials to revenue overnight.
Email AI API providers on Twitter with 'free month Pro if you integrate today'; offer to founders in AI Discord servers; cold outreach to 50 Product Hunt AI products.
Fast proxy
No POC logic or watermarks
POC-specific with sales conversion tools
Switching cost from embedded proxy keys in customer apps.
Generative AI compute costs exploding, free POCs bleeding margins.
Proxy latency
Edge functions
Resistance to proxy
Easy swap demo
Watermark IP issues
Invisible, removable on paid
Success: 8 want limits
Success: 0 abuse incidents
Success: 50 trials
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