The problem con la mayoría de análisis de ROI en IA
When a company evaluates whether to automate with AI agents, it typically makes two opposite mistakes. The first is overestimating the implementation cost, imagining months-long projects with engineering teams. The second is underestimating the cost of doing nothing, as if the status quo were free.
Neither is correct. Here we present an honest calculation framework, with the real numbers we see in our projects.
Step 1: quantify the current cost of the process
Before calculating the ROI of automation, you need to know how much the process costs as it exists today. These are the components to measure:
- Direct staff cost: hours per month dedicated to the process × hourly cost (includes employer contributions, not just gross salary)
- Cost of errors: number of errors per month × average cost of correcting each error
- Opportunity cost: leads not attended to in time, clients lost due to slow response
- Scalability cost: cost of hiring an additional person when volume grows by 20%
"The real cost of a manual process includes errors, lost opportunities and the inability to scale without hiring. Added together, it is usually 2-3 times the visible staffing cost."
Step 2: calculate the cost of the agent solution
The cost of operating AI agents has three main components:
- Implementation cost: the cost of the initial project (design, development, integration, testing). At labrobotics, this is included in the first months of the plan.
- Monthly platform cost: the monthly fee for the agent service.
- LLM token cost: the cost of calls to language models. For most business cases, this cost is marginal: between €50 and €300/month.
Step 3: calculate the net monthly saving
With the above numbers, the calculation is straightforward:
- Monthly saving = Current process cost − Monthly solution cost
- Payback = Implementation cost ÷ Net monthly saving
In the projects we have deployed, the average payback is between 6 and 10 weeks. Not months: weeks.
Real example: order management in a manufacturing company
- Current cost: 3 people × €2,800/month = €8,400/month + error estimate: €1,200/month = €9,600/month
- Solution cost: labrobotics Business plan + tokens = €8,100/month
- Net monthly saving: €1,500/month in the first month, growing as the team is reduced
- After team reorientation (month 3): net saving of €6,200/month
What the numbers don't capture
The financial ROI is the rational justification for the investment. But there are benefits that a spreadsheet does not easily capture:
- Ability to operate 24/7 at no additional cost
- Instant scalability in response to demand peaks
- Total consistency: the agent never has a bad day
- Structured data from all operations, available for analysis
- Human talent freed for higher-value and more fulfilling work
When we add these factors together, the real ROI of automating with AI agents in 2025 is, in most business cases, one of the best available.