What is a usage export?
Most owners only look at numbers when something feels wrong: a bill seems high, an account went quiet, or a customer says nobody answered. A usage export is the plain record you reach for at that moment. It is also surprisingly handy when nothing is wrong, for spotting your busiest days and seeing what your AI agent did. This guide explains what one is and how to read it.
In one sentence
A usage export is a spreadsheet of how much each of your messaging accounts did on each day: messages sent, new conversations started and other actions. It holds counts, not message text, so you can keep it, share it with a bookkeeper or open it in any spreadsheet app.
In more detail
Every time your AI agent sends a message, starts a chat or does something else on an account, it is counted. A usage export gathers those counts into rows, one row for each account on each day. If you have a WhatsApp number and an Instagram account and you export a week, you get fourteen rows: seven days for each account.
Each row says which day, which account and which channel, the account's name, how many messages were sent, how many new conversations were started and how many actions there were in total. An action is anything your agent did that counts towards your plan, such as reading or writing. Checking sign-in, account health and billing does not count as an action.
What the export leaves out matters just as much. It holds no message text and no customer names. It tells you that your WhatsApp number sent 46 messages on Tuesday, not what they said or to whom. That makes it safe to save, to send to an accountant or to keep for your records without exposing customers' conversations.
You choose the dates. An export can cover any range of up to 92 days, and it comes as a CSV file, which opens in Excel, Google Sheets or Numbers, or as JSON if someone technical wants to feed it into another tool. Accounts that were disconnected or deleted during the range still appear, so the record is complete, and once an account is gone it shows as "Disconnected account".
You do not need to know any of the technical detail to get one. You ask your AI agent in plain words, and it fetches the export and either summarises it or gives you the file. Here is a typical request. Names and details are examples.
An example
| Who | Message |
|---|---|
| Owner (to Claude) | Export my usage for October and tell me the busiest day. |
| AI agent | Here is October: 62 rows, two accounts over 31 days. The busiest day was Saturday 18 October, when your WhatsApp number sent 71 messages and started 3 new conversations. Instagram was quietest on Mondays. |
| Owner | How many new conversations did we start in total? |
| AI agent | 29 across both accounts. The rest of the 1,140 messages were replies to people who wrote in. |
What each column means
| Column | What it shows | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Date | The day the row covers | 2026-10-18 |
| Account | Spaces' id for the account | A long code, the same every day |
| Channel | Which platform the account is on | |
| Account name | The name you see for the account | Shop WhatsApp |
| Messages sent | Messages sent from that account that day | 71 |
| New chats | Conversations started by the account that day | 3 |
| Actions | Everything counted towards your plan that day, reads and writes | 214 |
Names and details are examples. The export also lists the kinds of action it counted, so a technical helper can see what made up the total.
Five useful things to do with an export
- Find your busiest days and times of year, so you know when to check in more often or prepare your brief for a rush.
- See how many first messages your agent started compared with replies. A healthy customer-service account is mostly replies.
- Check an account that went quiet. Days of zero messages in the middle of a busy week usually mean it needs reconnecting.
- Keep a monthly record for your books, without any customer conversations in it.
- Compare before and after a change, such as adding a second channel or changing your agent's notes.
Questions you can ask your agent about an export
You do not have to open the file at all. Asking in plain words is often quicker. Names and details are examples.
- Export last month's usage and give me the totals per account.
- Which day in the last 30 days had the most new conversations?
- Did any account send nothing for two days or more in September?
- Compare messages sent this month with the same dates last month.
- Save the export for July to August as a CSV I can send to my accountant.Reading one week, row by row
Here is a shortened week for a small café with one WhatsApp number and one Instagram account. Names and details are examples.
| Date | Account name | Messages sent | New chats | Actions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon 3 Nov | Café WhatsApp | 18 | 0 | 64 |
| Mon 3 Nov | Café Instagram | 9 | 1 | 41 |
| Tue 4 Nov | Café WhatsApp | 22 | 1 | 73 |
| Tue 4 Nov | Café Instagram | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Wed 5 Nov | Café WhatsApp | 25 | 0 | 80 |
| Wed 5 Nov | Café Instagram | 0 | 0 | 2 |
Two things stand out. WhatsApp is steady and almost all replies, which is exactly what a healthy customer-service account looks like. Instagram dropped to nothing on Tuesday and stayed there, with only a handful of actions. On a café account that normally answers several messages a day, that is a strong hint it was signed out. The owner asks the agent to check the account's health, gets a reconnect link and is back the same afternoon.
Without the export, the first sign might have been a customer saying "I messaged you on Instagram and nobody answered". With it, a glance at the numbers caught the problem in a day.
What a usage export is not
- It is not a transcript. To read what was said, ask your agent to open the conversation itself.
- It is not a bill. Your plan and billing status are separate, and the pricing page explains how plans work.
- It is not a list of customers. There are no names or numbers in it.
- It is not live. For how much room an account has left right now, ask your agent for today's usage or the account's health instead.
Why it matters for your business
- It gives you a plain, honest record of what your accounts did, day by day.
- It helps you spot problems, such as an account that quietly stopped sending.
- It shows whether your agent is mostly replying, which is where accounts are safest.
- It is safe to share with a bookkeeper or adviser because it holds no message text.
- It helps you plan, by showing your busy days and seasons.
How Spaces handles it
Your AI agent can export usage by day for each account, for any range of up to 92 days, as a spreadsheet file or as JSON. Each row has the date, the account, its channel and name, messages sent, new conversations and actions. There is no message text in it.
Accounts that were disconnected or deleted in the range are still included, so the totals add up, and once an account is gone it shows as "Disconnected account". Checking sign-in, account health and billing does not count as actions.
For right now rather than history, your agent can read today's and this week's usage and how much room each account has left. Prices and what each plan includes are on the pricing page.
In short
A usage export is a day-by-day spreadsheet of what each account sent and did, with no message text. Ask your agent for one each month, glance at the totals and the quiet days, and keep it with your records.
FAQ
Does a usage export include my customers' messages?
No. It holds counts only: messages sent, new conversations and actions, per account per day. To read a conversation, ask your agent to open it.
How far back can I export?
Each export can cover up to 92 days. For a longer period, ask for several exports one after another, such as one per quarter.
Which apps can open the file?
The spreadsheet version is a CSV file, which opens in Excel, Google Sheets, Numbers and almost any spreadsheet app. A JSON version is available for someone who wants to load it into another tool.
Why does an account show as "Disconnected account"?
That account was disconnected or deleted. Its past days are kept in the export so the totals stay complete, but its name and channel are no longer known.
What counts as an action?
An action is a read or write your agent made that counts towards your plan, such as listing conversations or sending a reply. Sign-in, account health and billing checks do not count.
Is the export the same as my bill?
No. It is a record of activity. Your plan and billing status are separate, and the pricing page explains how plans and actions work.
How often should I look at a usage export?
Once a month is enough for most small businesses, with a quick look at totals and any quiet days. If something feels wrong in between, such as a customer saying nobody answered, an export for the last week is the fastest way to see what happened.
Can I get an export without asking my AI agent?
If you or a developer use the Spaces API directly, the same export is available there. For most owners, asking the agent in a sentence is the easiest way.