How much time could AI automation really save your business?

Automation vendors love big percentages. A better approach is to do the maths on your own business. It takes about ten minutes and gives you a realistic number to make decisions with.

Step 1: List your repetitive tasks

Write down the tasks your team does over and over: answering the same questions, data entry, scheduling, follow-ups, reporting. Ask the people who actually do them — they know where the time goes.

Step 2: Estimate the hours

For each task, estimate how many people do it and how many hours a week it takes each of them. Be conservative. Rough numbers are fine.

Step 3: Decide what share can be automated

Very few tasks can be automated completely. Exceptions, judgement calls and customer conversations still need people. For most admin work, assuming 30–60% can be automated is a sensible starting range.

Step 4: Put a dollar figure on it

Multiply the hours saved by the true hourly cost of the people doing the work — including super and on-costs, not just their pay rate. Then multiply by the number of working weeks in a year.

Don’t forget the costs

• The build itself (one-off).

• Software subscriptions the automation relies on.

• Ongoing monitoring and maintenance.

• The time your team spends explaining processes and testing.

Look beyond hours

Some of the biggest gains don’t show up as hours: faster replies to leads, fewer errors, staff who aren’t burnt out on admin and customers who get answers after hours.

Our hours-saved calculator on the homepage runs this maths for you. Treat the result as an estimate — then book a call and we’ll pressure-test it against how your business really works.