Planning & costs
What does AI automation cost? Setup, usage and support
An automation budget is easier to understand when you separate the work to build it from the cost to run it. A low setup price alone does not tell you the total cost of ownership.
Setup: making the workflow fit your business
Setup can include understanding the process, connecting your tools, defining rules, preparing approved information and testing exceptions. A draft email workflow is a different project from one that also updates your customer records and requests an approval.
Ask what is included: the number of workflows and connections, supported languages, testing, handover and revisions. Agree on a concrete result and acceptance checks. A useful estimate also explains what requires a separate quote.
A numerical example from our pricing builder
These figures come from the same calculation as our pricing page. Each row is the basic setup estimate for that service on its own, with no extra connections or review workshop.
| Service | Setup on its own |
|---|---|
| Sales & customer follow-up | USD 650 |
| Email management & reply preparation | USD 550 |
| Document & order processing | USD 650 |
| Company knowledge & text support | USD 600 |
| Price estimates & pro forma invoices | USD 550 |
| Website voice assistant | USD 900 |
| Sum of 6 separate setups | USD 3,900 |
| All 6 in one compatible setup | USD 2,500 |
| Repeated setup work avoided · already reflected above | USD 1,400 |
The combined estimate counts workflow design, acceptance review and handover once. It also counts the shared web interface and approved company knowledge once where services use them. The difference removes repeated work; it is not an extra discount to subtract from the combined total.
This assumes one shared workspace, one language, supplied approved content, one acceptance review and handover, and accessible documented connections where needed. Separate teams, permissions or environments, and complex data migration need a revised estimate. The pricing page explains each basic service scope.
A smaller example: email with Care support
For one inbox, message categories and reply drafts checked by a person, the known costs are:
- One-time email setup
- USD 550
- Optional Care support / month
- USD 90
- First month known subtotal
- USD 640
USD 550 setup + USD 90 Care = USD 640 known for the first month.
Care includes 2 hours per month for maintenance and small agreed changes. Unused hours do not roll over. New features and emergency or 24/7 cover are excluded. The setup charge is one time; later months include selected support and actual running costs.
Actual AI/API usage, hosting and other provider fees, applicable taxes and work outside the stated scope are excluded from these totals. They are not zero. Budget for them separately before comparing the full cost.
These are Soylu Sistem planning estimates for the stated scopes, not a market benchmark, a binding quotation or a forecast of customer savings. We confirm final scope and price in writing.
Source: current pricing builder and scope detailsUsage: what changes as activity grows
AI calls, hosting, storage and third-party subscriptions may create recurring costs. Text, document and voice workflows use different resources. Volume matters, but so do the length of each interaction, the chosen model and the amount of information processed.
Estimate a typical month and a busy month. Ask which services you pay directly, whether supplier fees are included, and how spending limits and usage monitoring will work. Avoid comparing monthly figures unless they cover the same items.
Support: keeping a working system useful
Support may cover monitoring, investigating failures and adapting to changes in connected tools. New features or major process changes may be outside that scope. Check the response arrangements, included work and how additional requests are priced.
For the first month, compare setup plus the first month of usage and any selected support. For later months, compare recurring costs. Review the estimate again if the number of tools, languages or review steps changes.