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AI Automation ROI Calculator

Estimate how many hours and dollars automating a repetitive task could save your business every year.

468 hrs

freed up per year

$21,060

estimated annual value

$63,180

3-year value

Estimates only — real ROI depends on the task and the implementation. Numbers are before implementation cost.

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Thinking about automating a repetitive process but not sure if it's worth it? This free AI ROI calculator gives you a fast, honest ballpark. Enter how many people touch the task, how much time it eats each week, and what an hour of their time really costs — and see the annual value automation could unlock.

The math is deliberately simple: hours freed per year × fully-loaded hourly cost × the share of the work automation can realistically handle. Most business tasks aren't 100% automatable — 50–80% is a typical range for document processing, data entry, reporting, and customer-service triage.

How to use

  1. Count everyone who regularly performs the task, not just the main person.
  2. Estimate hours per person per week honestly — include the small daily touches, they add up.
  3. Use fully-loaded hourly cost (salary + benefits + overhead), typically 1.25–1.4× the base wage.
  4. Set the automation share conservatively; 60% is a reasonable starting assumption.

Frequently asked questions

How accurate is this AI ROI calculator?

It's a directional estimate, not a quote. Real ROI depends on the specific task, data quality, and how well the automation is implemented. Use it to decide whether a task is worth a closer look — if the annual value is several times the likely build cost, it usually is.

What business tasks are best suited to AI automation?

High-volume, rule-adjacent work: document and email processing, data entry between systems, report generation, customer-inquiry triage, quote preparation, and knowledge lookup. If people describe the work as 'copy-paste with judgment', it's usually a strong candidate.

What does an AI automation project typically cost?

Small single-workflow automations often land in the low five figures; larger knowledge systems and multi-workflow platforms cost more. The calculator's annual-value output is the right number to compare against — we're happy to give you a real estimate for your case.

Free tool by Pine & Birch — technology consulting, Toronto.