Guides / AI automation
How to choose an AI automation agency.
Seven questions to ask.
A checklist for comparing proposals on the same footing. For each question we describe a good answer and give our own.
Sevil ÖkmenCo-founder · Performance marketingPublished: 6 min read
Comparing proposals from AI automation agencies is hard. Scope, price and responsibility are written differently in each one.
These seven questions put every proposal on the same footing, whichever agency you talk to. Under each question we describe what a good answer looks like and give our own. When you choose an AI automation agency, ask for four things in writing: accounts opened in your name, a fixed price, approval steps you define, and a handover document at delivery.
Whose name are the accounts in?
An automation runs inside accounts: the model provider, the automation tool, WhatsApp. If those accounts belong to the agency, the system leaves with the agency when you part ways.
Every account is opened in your name, on your payment method. The agency is added as a user.
Everything is built in your own accounts. Our access is closed when the work is done.
Is the price written and fixed?
You cannot budget without a starting price and a clear list of what is included. A verbal price moves as the scope grows.
A written quote that separates the build fee, the monthly fee and what is not included.
Our starting prices before tax are published: AI Readiness Discovery $600 (credited to your build), process automation from $1,200, a single agent from $3,000. After Discovery, pricing becomes a single fixed written quote.
Are usage fees included?
Model, WhatsApp and platform fees rise with usage. Who pays them and who sees the invoice should be clear from the start.
Usage fees are a separate line in the quote. You see the invoices.
Not included. They are paid from your own accounts, directly to the provider, so you see the usage and the invoices.
Which work gets an agent, and which gets automation?
Work with clear rules, such as writing a tracking number to an order, needs automation. Work that needs judgment, such as drafting a reply to a customer, needs an agent. The two cost different amounts.
They review your processes and tell you in writing what suits automation, what suits an agent and what should stay with your team.
In AI Readiness Discovery we talk with your team, look at your real data and deliver a written roadmap in 5 business days.
Where does a person approve?
Who has the final say on a message to a customer or a refund decision should be settled before the build.
You define the approval points. The agent prepares, a person approves, and every run is logged.
The agent prepares, you approve. Workflows are delivered with run logs and the approval steps you set.
Have you done this in your own business?
A workflow that looks good in a demo is unproven until it meets real orders and real customer messages.
They can show a workflow running in their own business or for a client they can name.
We have run our own brand, Yukon Bags, for 8 years across Shopify, Etsy and B2B (Yukon Bags sales data). Our workflows come from the order, shipping and customer message work we do ourselves.
What do I get at delivery, and who maintains it?
If a step breaks after launch, you need to know who fixes it and what that costs each month.
A handover document and run logs. Maintenance is optional and priced in writing. Measurement instead of promised results.
You get a handover document at delivery. For ongoing support, agent operations start at $500/month and automation care is $200/month. We do not guarantee savings; we report runs, errors and costs at delivery and in the monthly report.
Summary table.
A short version to take into the meeting.
| Question | A good answer |
|---|---|
| Whose name are the accounts in? | Every account is opened in your name, on your payment method. The agency is added as a user. |
| Is the price written and fixed? | A written quote that separates the build fee, the monthly fee and what is not included. |
| Are usage fees included? | Usage fees are a separate line in the quote. You see the invoices. |
| Which work gets an agent, and which gets automation? | They review your processes and tell you in writing what suits automation, what suits an agent and what should stay with your team. |
| Where does a person approve? | You define the approval points. The agent prepares, a person approves, and every run is logged. |
| Have you done this in your own business? | They can show a workflow running in their own business or for a client they can name. |
| What do I get at delivery, and who maintains it? | A handover document and run logs. Maintenance is optional and priced in writing. Measurement instead of promised results. |
Ask for the seven answers in writing and put the proposals side by side. As the answers get clearer, so does the choice.
Our own answers are set out in full on the AI automation and agents page. For work with clear rules see process automation; for work that needs judgment see AI agents.
What’s your starting point?
Ask us the seven questions too. We answer in writing.