Answers · one question, one page
How much does an AI agent cost?
From €500 for a basic assistant that answers questions from your own data, drafts replies for a person to approve and hands over what it cannot answer. The build is a fixed price; the running cost is the model’s usage bill, billed by the provider by volume.
An agent is not worth it when the questions do not repeat or when the data it needs is not written down; we say so before you pay. No client agent is deployed yet; we run one for ourselves and build per client.
See what a basic assistant does on the AI agents page →Build cost versus monthly running cost
Two different bills. The build is a fixed price from HeadPills: from €500 for a basic assistant, more for one that reads several systems, works in several languages or handles bookings. It is paid once and the agent is yours.
The running cost is what the model provider charges for usage, plus the tools the agent reads. It is billed monthly, by volume, to your own account. We show the expected bill in the quote with the assumptions written next to it.
What the monthly bill consists of
Model usage: every question the agent answers costs a fraction of a cent to a few cents depending on the model and the length of the answer; the provider bills it by the month. Tools: the inbox, the CRM or the calendar the agent reads, which you usually pay for already. Hosting for the agent itself, which for a small business is small.
What is not on the bill: a fee to us per message. If you want us to check the agent’s answers and adjust its rules every month, that is a separate, optional arrangement.
- Model usage, billed by the provider by volume
- Your existing tools: inbox, CRM, calendar
- Hosting for the agent
- Optional: a monthly check and rule updates by us
What changes the build price
The number of systems the agent has to read; the number of languages; whether it only drafts or also acts, for example books a slot or opens a ticket; and how many exceptions must go to a person. An agent that answers ten repeating questions from one price list is the €500 case. An agent that reads a booking system in three languages and books is not.
When an agent is not worth it
When the questions do not repeat: if every customer asks something new, a person is cheaper and better. When the data is not written down: an agent cannot answer from a price list that lives in someone’s head. When the volume is a few messages a week: the build never pays back, and a good template does the job.
And when the process is not stable: an agent built on rules that change every month is built twice. In those cases we recommend a simpler automation or nothing at all, and we put it in writing.
What is always included in the price
A person approves anything that goes to a customer until you decide otherwise; the agent says it is an assistant; it never sends answers about money or health on its own; it hands over what it does not know with the context attached; and every answer is logged so you can read what it said. These are not extras, and they are on our trust page.
When this answer does not work
When this answer does not work
If you need an agent that talks on the phone, or one that works with patients’ or customers’ sensitive data, the price depends on the data agreement and the rules first, and we do not quote it from the ladder. If the business does not have its answers written down anywhere, the first step is writing them, not building an agent. Both cases start with an audit call.
Questions
Related questions
Does a €500 AI agent answer customers on its own?
It drafts answers from your own data and a person approves them until you decide to let it send. Even then, anything about money or health goes to a person, and the agent says it is an assistant.
Who pays the model provider for an AI agent?
You do, from your own account, by volume. We set it up in your name so the bill, the data and the keys are yours and you can turn the agent off in one place.
Has HeadPills deployed an AI agent for a client yet?
Not yet. We run one for ourselves, on our own enquiries, and build per client from that. We say this on every page where it matters.
Send us the ten questions your customers ask most.
We reply with whether an agent is worth it and what it would cost.