Free calculator
What one AI seat is really worth
Spread the cost of building one AI seat over a year of working hours, compare it with what you pay a person for the same job, and see how small a profit improvement covers it. Your numbers, plain math, no email needed.
Example numbers. Replace them with yours.
1. What one seat costs
Per working hour, year one
$3.99
Year one, all in
$8,300
Year two
$300
2. What the same job costs on your team
Pick one recurring job: the Monday numbers, the follow-up list, the weekly report. What does it cost you in people's time today?
Your team, per hour
$35.00
That job, per year
$17,500
Seat pays back in
23.7 weeks
The seat costs $3.99 per working hour. The person doing this job costs $35.00. Handing off 10 hours a week frees 500 hours a year, worth $17,500, about 2.1x what the seat costs in year one. A full-time hire at that rate runs $72,800 a year.
3. What a small profit improvement is worth
Leave the hours aside. If the seats you build improve your profit even a little, what is that worth?
Your profit today: $150,000 a year.
| If profit improves by | Extra profit a year | Against the year-one cost |
|---|---|---|
| 5% | $7,500 | 0.9x |
| 10% | $15,000 | 1.8x |
| 20% | $30,000 | 3.6x |
A 5.5% improvement in profit pays for it in year one. Everything past that is yours to keep, and year two costs only the AI plan.
Build the seat yourself, with Steve.
The Operator Build is six live sessions. You start with a Chief of Staff, a Numbers Analyst and the Steve agent, then build your own seats around your #1 constraint. First cohort starts in January.
These are your numbers run through simple math, not a promise of results. What a seat returns depends on the job you give it and the work you put in.
FAQ
Questions owners ask
How is the cost per hour worked out?
The program cost plus a year of the AI plan, divided by a year of working hours (2,080 by default, which is 40 hours a week for 52 weeks). That is what one AI seat costs per working hour in year one, before it does anything.
Does the agent replace the person?
Usually not. It takes a recurring job off someone's plate, like the Monday scorecard or the follow-up list, so they spend those hours on work only a person can do. The calculator values those hours at what you pay for them now.
Why compare against profit and not revenue?
Because profit is what you keep. The profit scenarios show what a 5, 10 or 20 percent improvement in your current profit is worth, and the break-even line shows how small an improvement pays for the program in year one.
What does year two cost?
Only the AI plan. The program is a one-time cost; the seats you build keep running on your own account.
Are these numbers a promise?
No. They are your numbers, run through simple math, so you can see what a seat would have to do to pay for itself. Results depend on the job you give it and the work you put in.