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AI agent developmentAn AI agent that does real work in your systems, inside limits you set

Most AI agent demos work. The ones that reach production have a narrow job, clear permissions, a person who approves the sensitive steps, and a way to stop them. We build those AI agents for small and mid-sized businesses, in three packages, with a real example behind each one.

AI agent development cost: three ways to start, each with a clear edge

Each AI agent package has a fixed scope. If your project needs more than the package covers, it moves to the next one, not into an extra charge.

These prices and timelines are a guide. They show roughly what an AI agent project costs and how long it takes. The exact price is set after we talk, or after the AI Readiness Review, and from then on it is fixed and agreed with you.

Package 1

First workflow in production

One process, live and under control.

Guide price
$12,000
Guide timeline
3–5 weeks
Discuss this package

What you get

  • One workflow, start to finish
  • A person confirms before saving
  • Written definition of "ready"
  • Staged release, then widen

Real example

Up to 75% less manual preparation per import

Read the case

Package 2

Agent with limits and approvals

An agent that acts, within limits.

Guide price
$24,000
Guide timeline
6–8 weeks
Discuss this package

Everything in package 1, plus

  • Approved action list
  • Role-based access
  • Approval steps, named owners
  • Rollback, per-action switch-off

Real example

Up to 40% faster early onboarding

Read the case

Package 3

AI inside your core system

AI built into the system your team already uses.

Guide price
$44,000
Guide timeline
10–13 weeks
Discuss this package

Everything in package 2, plus

  • Several scenarios in your system
  • Saved results, freshness check
  • Quality evaluation and monitoring
  • Settings your admins control

Real example

Up to 85% faster to rebuild a client's context

Read the case

What each package covers, in detail

The same three packages with the full scope: what is included, what is left out and what we need from you.

Package 1First workflow in production

Who it is for

One process that takes your team's time every week, and a clear owner for it.

What is included

  • One workflow, one narrow path from start to finish
  • An agent that prepares, drafts or checks, and a person who confirms before anything is saved
  • A written definition of "ready" that both sides sign before we start
  • Release to your real users or staff, then a stable path before we widen it

Not included

A second workflow. Writing to your systems without a person confirming.

What we need from you

A named process owner and access to the systems the workflow touches.

Package 2Agent with limits and approvals

Who it is for

A process where the agent should act, not only suggest, and a wrong action would cost you money, customers or compliance.

What is included

  • An approved list of actions the agent may take on its own, and a list it may never take
  • Role-based access, so the agent sees only what its role allows
  • Approval steps for the sensitive actions, with a person named for each
  • A rollback path, and a way to narrow or switch off a single action without removing the whole agent

Not included

Autonomous actions that are hard to undo.

What we need from you

What package 1 needs, plus a list of roles and who can approve what.

Package 3AI inside your core system

Who it is for

AI that should become a permanent part of a system your team already works in.

What is included

  • Several scenarios built into your existing system, not a separate tool beside it
  • Results saved inside the system, with a freshness check so an old result is not read as current
  • An evaluation set and monitoring, so a drop in quality is seen before your users see it
  • Settings your administrators can change themselves: provider, prompts and limits

Not included

Replacing your ERP or core platform. Training a model of your own.

What we need from you

What package 2 needs, plus access to the codebase of the system we build into.

One narrow path first, then we widen it

An agent that tries to do everything fails in the places you cannot see. We start with the smallest path that already saves time, and we widen it only after it has held up in real use. The reasoning behind this order is on the delivery model page.

  1. Define "ready"

    Before work starts we write down what counts as done: which cases the agent must handle, what accuracy you accept, which actions it may take. Both sides sign it.

  2. Build the thin slice

    One format, one path, one verification step before anything is saved. This is the first release.

  3. Release and watch

    The agent works with real data, a person confirms the results, and we look at where it stumbles.

  4. Widen in stages

    New formats, new actions and new systems are added one at a time, each after the previous one is stable.

Read the delivery model

Who leads your project

Three people with clear roles: one accountable for our AI work as a whole, one who leads the build, and one who leads the process and your side of the conversation.
Max Spivakovsky
Founder, CEOMax
Spivakovsky
Heads our AI work
Accountable for how we do AI work across every project.
Leads the AI development
Leads the build of your agent, from the first path to the release.
Leads the process and the client side
Leads the communication with you, the process and the specification.

Partner program

ClaudePartner Network

Lazy Ants is part of the Claude Partner Network, Anthropic's partner program for organizations helping businesses adopt Claude.

Control

An agent in your systems is a new member of staff. We set it up like one

Once an agent can open records, send messages or change data, the question is no longer how good its answers are. It is who the agent acts as, what it may do alone, and how you see what it did. Five AI governance decisions we settle with you for every agent.

Who the agent is

It gets its own agent identity in your systems, with a named owner, instead of borrowing a person's login. When something happens, the record shows it was the agent, and on whose behalf it acted.

What it can see

Access is limited by role. The default is read-only wherever the data is sensitive or the situation is unclear.

What it may do alone

An approved list of low-risk actions, such as drafting a message or sending a pre-approved reminder. Everything outside that list is off.

What needs your yes

Money, customer-facing messages with business impact, and anything hard to undo wait for a named person to approve them. That is the human-in-the-loop step.

How you see and stop it

Every action is logged in an audit trail you can read. You can switch off a single action, narrow the agent back to read and draft mode, or send a case back to human handling, without removing the whole agent.

The same thinking applies to the data the agent reads. See context, permissions and systems of record and data rights and privacy before launch.

Where to start

Not sure which process to automate first? Start here

The review picks the process, measures what it costs today and tells you whether it is ready, before anything is built.

AI Readiness Review

Three weeks, one decision you can take to your board: which process, what it costs you today, and whether it is ready.

Price
$4,500 fixed
Time
3 weeks from day zero
Credit
In full, against any project from $12,000

What happens once the agent is live

An agent needs an owner after release. Allowed actions, approval thresholds and templates drift as your business changes. We offer a support package after launch to keep them in step. In the cases above, the delivery side owned the action logic and guardrail behaviour, the client side judged whether the workflow stayed useful, and sensitive decisions stayed with accountable business owners.

Questions we get before booking

If yours is not here, ask on the first call. We would rather tell you an agent is the wrong tool than sell you one.

How much does it cost to build an AI agent?
The three AI agent development packages show a guide price: $12,000, $24,000 and $44,000. The exact price is set after a call or after the AI Readiness Review, and from then on it is fixed and agreed with you. What moves a project from one package to the next is the number of systems the agent connects to, how many actions it may take, and how sensitive those actions are.
How long does it take?
The guide is three to five weeks for the first package, six to eight for the second and ten to thirteen for the third. The exact timeline is agreed with the price. The first usable release comes first, and it is deliberately narrow: one path and one verification step.
What is the difference between an AI agent and AI automation?
Automation follows a fixed script. An agent decides which step to take next from a list of tools and actions we define. That freedom is why it needs limits and approvals. For a simpler, scripted task, see AI Automation for Business.
What can the agent do without a person?
Only what is on the approved list for that agent, which we agree with you. By default that is reading and drafting. Anything that moves money, contacts a customer in a way that matters, or is hard to undo needs a named person's approval.
What if the agent makes a mistake?
Every action is logged, and the riskiest actions wait for approval. If behaviour drifts, you can switch off a single action or return the agent to read and draft mode without removing it. Rollback is part of the first release, not a later addition.
Where do we start if we do not know which process to pick?
With the AI Readiness Review: three weeks, $4,500, credited in full against any project from $12,000.
Can you connect an agent to our existing tools?
Yes. The agent works with the systems its workflow touches, and access is agreed with you before work starts. We publish open-source MCP servers for tools such as Hetzner, Lexware and Transkribus, which shows how we connect agents to real systems.

Tell us about the process you want an agent for

One call to see whether it fits a package. If it does not, we will say so.
AI Agent Development | From Pilot to Production | Lazy Ants