A paid skill and a paid AI account are different purchases
The AI account your reader needs depends on how you deliver the skill: through a supported app feature, a connection to your service, a plugin, or a separate hosted experience. Name the exact route and its prerequisites before checkout. Paying for your method does not, by itself, establish that the reader has the app access or permissions needed to use it.
This guide shows how to write a compatibility statement buyers can act on. The platform examples were checked against current documentation on September 22, 2026. They are not live tests of paid Skillfully access on those plans.
Buyers may not know which product they are buying
Before subscribing to Claude Pro, u/HmmImNotReallySure asked:
“is skiils only for claude code, or can i also use it in regular claude chat (website & desktop)?”
The question appeared in May 2026. It is a useful example of purchase uncertainty, not a current compatibility specification. The app name alone did not tell this prospective subscriber what experience would be available. Original prospective subscriber question.
An author should answer that uncertainty near the offer. “Works with Claude” is too broad if the actual route requires a particular interface, account permission, or delivery format. “No coding required” also leaves the account question unanswered.
Write the requirement as a sentence a buyer can check: “Use this through [specific interface] with [supported account type]. You will also need [service account or permission]. [State the separate cost arrangement].” Fill those fields from documentation and your own completed tests, not from a competing product’s description.
Different delivery routes have different requirements
The following table illustrates why authors should verify the route instead of assuming that all features called skills have the same eligibility. It summarizes selected Claude documentation; it does not certify a particular author product.
| Route | What the current documentation says | What an author still needs to verify |
|---|---|---|
| Native Claude Skills | Free, Pro, Max, Team, and Enterprise are listed; code execution is required. | Your supplied skill works through the supported interface and relevant organization settings. |
| Custom remote connector | Free through Enterprise plans are listed; Free has a one-custom-connector limit. | The buyer can add your connection, authenticate, and use the purchased method. |
| Claude plugin | The plugin guide lists paid Pro, Max, Team, and Enterprise plans. | Your package and its components work in the particular surface you promise. |
| API-based application | A paid Claude chat subscription does not include API access or billing. | Whether the author or buyer supplies and pays for the API usage in your offer. |
Sources: native Skills, custom connectors, plugins, and chat subscriptions versus the API.
“Feature available” and “your product works” are separate conclusions. The table answers the first question in a limited way. Only a test of the complete buyer journey can supply evidence for the second.
A workplace account adds another question: is the required feature allowed by the organization? Do not suggest that readers bypass workplace restrictions or move confidential material into a personal account to make your offer work. Give them a clear way to check with their administrator before purchasing.
Explain who pays for what
Readers should be able to distinguish the price of your method from the cost of the software used to run it. State whether your offer includes hosting or usage, requires a separate subscription, or relies on an account the reader already has.
In an older discussion about using Claude with a coding tool, u/pepito_fdez wrote:
“I guess my confusion came from receiving a receipt from Anthropic, so I assumed it was all the same thing.”
That historical billing confusion is relevant to offer clarity; it is not evidence about today’s third-party app plans. Use the provider’s current documentation for the actual requirements. Original account and API discussion.
A buyer-facing cost note should answer four questions: What am I paying you for? What might I pay another company for? Is there a usage limit? What happens if my other subscription ends?
Do not describe a paid AI plan as unlimited unless you can support that exact promise. Avoid publishing a precise monthly total when taxes, region, billing period, or usage could change it. Link the current provider pricing and describe your own charges accurately.
Build a compatibility record before writing the promise
Use one row for each client, plan, and route you intend to support. Combining every Claude interface into one checked box can conceal important differences.
| Record field | What to put in it |
|---|---|
| App and interface | Exact app plus web, desktop, mobile, or other relevant surface. |
| Account and permissions | Plan, personal or managed workspace, and required permissions. |
| Delivery route | Upload, plugin, connector, or hosted account, as actually sold. |
| Buyer state | Fresh buyer, returning buyer, or another explicitly tested case. |
| Documentation check | Source link, date, and what it establishes. |
| Live journey check | Date and observed purchase/access, connection, and first-task result. |
| Exceptions | Limits, unsupported combinations, and unresolved failures. |
| Public wording | The narrow compatibility statement the evidence supports. |
This is an original worksheet, not a completed test report. If a row has documentation but no live journey check, mark it “documentation checked; product journey untested” internally. Do not quietly turn that status into a supported-client badge.
For a fictional author selling a gardening observation method, a useful test task might be creating a one-week observation log from a description of light and watering. Reaching the account screen is not enough. The tester should obtain access, start the method, and receive the expected log structure without an unexplained extra purchase. The task checks the experience being sold, not whether the assistant can diagnose plant disease.
Put requirements where they change the decision
Show essential requirements beside the price and purchase action. Repeat them in the receipt or welcome message, but do not make that the first place a buyer sees them.
If you cannot support a reader’s account, say so plainly. “We have not tested this route” is different from “This route does not work.” Both are more informative than leaving the reader to discover the uncertainty after paying.
When a provider changes a requirement, update the sales page and onboarding instructions together. Keep the previous test record so support can tell whether an older purchase used a different route. Recheck the combinations your customers actually use before expanding the public compatibility list.
For the method portion of that test, use measuring agent skill quality to define observable success. Account eligibility gets the reader through the door; useful work is what makes the purchase worthwhile.
If you are turning a book method into a paid skill, visit Skillfully and choose Book onboarding. Bring the reader accounts you expect to support and the first task you want them to complete.