The rapid rise of artificial intelligence is transforming the way businesses operate on a fundamental level. In just a few years, AI has gone from a niche technology to a mainstream business solution. As a result, companies in nearly every industry are now seeking to adopt AI tools to improve efficiency, cut costs, and enhance their offerings. A niche agency enables you to leverage your existing skills and experience to offer valuable services to businesses seeking to adopt AI. In this article, we’ll explore the ins and outs of starting an AI agency, including how to get set up quickly and the benefits of using AI to help you launch your new business.
One of the biggest hurdles to starting an AI agency is understanding AI itself. But you don’t have to be an expert or even know how to code to launch your agency. AI Acquisition’s AI operating system can help you get started quickly by streamlining AI integration for your clients and guiding you through the learning process.
An AI agency helps businesses incorporate artificial intelligence solutions into their operations. Specifically, these firms leverage AI technology to enhance marketing efforts and optimize business processes. Unlike traditional digital marketing agencies, AI agencies integrate advanced AI tools and algorithms to:
By focusing on incorporating AI into marketing efforts, AI agencies enable businesses to achieve unprecedented levels of efficiency and effectiveness.
Within the field of AI agencies, there are two subcategories:
In AI marketing, agencies utilize AI technologies to enhance their marketing efforts. The core goal is to improve a brand's visibility, customer engagement, and marketing ROI. AI agencies achieve this by leveraging AI for tasks such as:
The focus is squarely on leveraging AI to achieve marketing objectives more effectively and efficiently.
By partnering with an AI marketing agency, businesses can deliver highly targeted campaigns, improve ROI, and save time on repetitive tasks. Here’s a closer look at some of the core services offered by AI marketing agencies:
Modern AI marketing agencies utilize advanced algorithms to:
They transform raw data into actionable marketing strategies, helping businesses understand not just what customers are doing but why they’re doing it.
Gone are the days of one-size-fits-all marketing. AI marketing agencies implement sophisticated personalization engines that can customize and repurpose:
Using advanced natural language processing (NLP) tools, these agencies generate and optimize content that resonates with target audiences while maintaining SEO effectiveness. From social media posts to long-form articles, AI helps create content that performs well both with search engines and human readers.
AI marketing agencies utilize machine learning algorithms to optimize marketing campaigns in real-time, continuously. They analyze performance metrics, adjust targeting parameters, and reallocate budgets automatically to maximize ROI.
AI automation is a subset of AI marketing, but with a stronger focus on operational efficiency through automation. These services aim to reduce manual effort and scale marketing activities. This involves leveraging AI tools to automate repetitive tasks such as:
By automating these processes, the AI automation agency frees up teams to concentrate on strategic planning, operations, and creative initiatives, ultimately leading to greater efficiency, improved campaign performance, and enhanced ROI.
AI agencies offer a range of services, including:
Unlike traditional digital marketing agencies that might focus on manual tasks and conventional strategies, AI agencies use cutting-edge technology to deliver more efficient and effective solutions. This includes everything from AI chatbots for enhanced customer service to AI-powered market analysis that offers deep insights into consumer behavior.
AI development agencies specialize in creating custom AI solutions tailored to a company’s unique needs. Whether it’s developing machine learning algorithms, AI-powered software, or data models, these agencies bring cutting-edge innovations to life.
These agencies develop specialized AI models trained on your specific business data. Whether it’s computer vision systems for quality control or natural language processing for customer service, they create solutions that perfectly fit your needs.
They excel at integrating AI solutions with existing business systems and workflows. This includes API development, database optimization, and ensuring seamless communication between different systems.
AI development agencies establish robust Machine Learning Operations (MLOps) practices, ensuring that AI models remain effective and continually improve over time. This includes:
AI consulting agencies assist businesses in understanding and implementing AI solutions that align with their objectives. They assess a company’s current capabilities and provide strategies for AI adoption and transformation.
A new area within AI marketing involves the use of agentic AI. This represents a significant step beyond traditional AI tools, enabling AI systems to autonomously plan, execute, and optimize marketing strategies with minimal human oversight.
Understanding how to leverage these sophisticated AI agents for tasks like autonomous campaign management, hyper-personalized customer journey orchestration, and dynamic content creation can be particularly challenging for businesses new to AI.
AI agencies specialize in guiding businesses through the intricacies of agentic AI. They provide the expertise to identify relevant use cases, implement and configure these autonomous systems, and ensure they align with overall marketing goals. By partnering with an AI agency, businesses adopt this without needing to develop deep in-house expertise in this advanced field.
When integrated into essential digital systems, such as Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), AI can streamline operations and enhance efficiency across various workflows. AI agencies provide solutions, such as:
This allows you to refine strategies using real-time data and analytics, ultimately increasing efficiency and adaptability.
The shift from traditional marketing and AI methods to greater adoption of generative AI is enabling more dynamic, adaptive operational tools. For example, incorporating an AI assistant built on intelligent agents to automate repetitive steps within a marketing workflow frees up your team's time to focus on more strategic initiatives, improving overall productivity on complex tasks.
AI agencies utilize innovative tools, such as advanced chatbots and real-time analysis, to transform the way businesses communicate with their customers. These tools enable instant, effective, and personalized interactions, significantly enhancing the customer experience.
According to research published in the Journal of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, implementing AI-driven communication tools can lead to enriched customer experiences, valuable insights, and strategies that meet evolving demands. By leveraging AI, businesses can respond to customer inquiries promptly and accurately, providing a higher level of service.
One of the most compelling benefits of working with an AI agency is the ability to gain a competitive edge. AI offers more than just automation; it equips businesses with powerful tools, such as predictive analytics and real-time market monitoring. These tools enable you to deliver tailored content, proactively respond to market shifts, and maintain a competitive edge.
For instance, employing AI-driven market analysis tools, such as those provided by SEMrush, enables you to stay ahead of competitors by understanding market trends and consumer behavior in real-time.
Many digital marketers find themselves overwhelmed by the vast amounts of data generated in the digital world. AI agencies, equipped with robust algorithms, can transform this data into actionable insights. By identifying trends, anticipating outcomes, and presenting precise analytics, AI empowers you to make strategic and well-timed decisions.
A practical application of AI-driven decision-making is evident in personalized marketing campaigns. By analyzing customer data, AI can:
AI is a catalyst for innovation. By continuously evaluating market trends and consumer behaviors, AI provides businesses with insights that may be elusive to traditional research methods. This enables the development of products and services that perfectly align with current market needs and potential opportunities.
We help professionals and business owners start and scale AI-driven businesses by leveraging existing AI tools and our proprietary ai-clients.com AI operating system. You don't need to have a technical background, invest any significant capital up-front, or work what feels like another 9-5 job, because AI does a lot of the heavy lifting for you.
Check out a free training to see how I used this exact system to transition from a burned-out corporate director to earning $500,000 per month in under two years. Feel free also to book an AI strategy call with one of our consultants to explore how you can leverage your existing skills and experience to launch a successful AI business.
Buckle in because I have a lot to say about niches. Identifying your niche is one of the most crucial steps in establishing your agency. Many people possess the right skills and tools, but what about the niche? Picking your niche is a blend of creativity and strategy. This distinguishes you from everyone else with the same development background and entrepreneurial spirit.
The case against generalists. When adding AI to your service offerings, it’s tempting to say you can do it all. “But customers aren’t usually swayed by ‘We do AI,’” explains Jean-Bernard Perron, COO & CFO at an AI company. He has worked with hundreds of AI agencies over his decade in the industry.
“You know what clients want to hear? ‘We specialize in AI agents for this exact use case.’ If you say you can do everything, what your customers hear is that you aren’t good at anything.” The majority of successful AI sellers specialize in a niche.
How to identify your niche? I’m glad you asked. How to nail down your niche. Patrick Hamelin is a growth-focused engineer who has helped tons of AI agencies get their start. He even dipped his toe in the water recently and started heading an in-house agency for a start-up. And he interviews AI agencies for fun. Just to see how they got their success—enough said.
“Figure out what you’re good at,” suggests Hamelin. “I always recommend conducting a SWOT analysis, figuring out your strengths, and then focusing on that niche.” What do niches look like? Good question. A use case isn’t usually enough. ‘We specialize in sales,’ or ‘we specialize in customer service.’ No. Go deeper. Niches are often location, language, or a specific channel or integration.
“If you’re good at using Hubspot, and you know there’s a problem there to solve—solve it and you have your market,” explains Hamelin.
Our AI platform has partnerships with dozens of agencies. Some of their specialities for AI agents include:
Another strategy to target your niche is to look at the people around you. Maybe you know a lot of people in a specific industry, or you’re familiar with a particular problem. Focus on those problems, because no one else will. “Look at your friends, look at your colleagues,” Hamelin recommends. “If you know the problem, you’ll have a competitive advantage.”
I know that niche was the most critical choice, but consider how closely intertwined niche and scale are. The scale of the project you choose to take on will build the foundation for your business—your price, your potential clients and everything. The scale that’s right for you is gonna be very dependent on your niche.
There are 3 main buckets of AI projects. We’ve seen them all, but one is undoubtedly the most popular (and the easiest to succeed with).
AI solutions built from scratch to meet complex, unique client needs. Every component—from workflows to integrations—is tailored to meet your specific needs.
Typical Client Enterprises or organizations with specific workflows, legacy systems, or high compliance needs. Example Use Cases: Internal operations agent with system integrations, AI assistant with RAG, and human-in-the-loop. Best suited for selling high-ticket, long-term projects.
You’ll be tailoring every part of the build: the workflows, the logic, the integrations, the data structure, the fallback handling—all of it. A template will only get in your way. Custom projects can be advantageous, but also come with:
You’ll need solid project management and clear boundaries. Otherwise, the bot is never done. On the technical side, you’ll have deep expertise with your solution and software, enabling you to manage the complex integrations and compliance requirements associated with enterprise chatbots.
Typical pricing for custom projects is a custom quote. You can charge per hour worked, per milestone achieved, or even for a complete project (but you should space out payments if it's going to be a multi-step project).
AI solutions that start from a reusable template, then get customized for each client’s specific requirements.
Pre-built AI solutions that are quickly configured per client, using the same core bot for all customers. Typical Client Niche segments with everyday needs and lower budgets.
What’s so hard about small, turnkey projects? Let me break it down. You’ll need to find a winning combination – one that’s easy to market, inexpensive to produce, and configurable enough for the segment you’re targeting. If you manage to figure out a strong use case, your pricing should either be:
A self-serve or semi-managed model, where your users manage (most) everything by themselves and you get involved only when needed.
This is one of the biggest choices you’ll make, but I’m sure you already have some options in mind. You can offer multiple services over multiple platforms, but it’s much easier (and it looks better to your clients) to start with one system to go along with your niche offering.
I’m biased towards ours, but instead of pitching you on it, I’ll give you a few questions you should ask yourself when shopping around:
An LLM agent aimed at AI orchestration will be a different story from a simple WhatsApp chatbot for customer service. CRM: Honestly, it’s never too early to get a CRM. If you’re going to need one eventually (i.e., you plan to scale), you should start with one to make the growth tracking process easier.
There are free options out there. No excuses. That said, if you’re in your scrappy start-up phase and trying to minimize your tech stack, you can undoubtedly use Excel. Nevertheless, be warned that every entrepreneur I asked said a CRM was well worth it, even in the early stages of their business.
Website builder: A word of warning: Many people think they need a killer website to attract their first clients. If you want to invest the time and money to build a beautiful website, go for it. But a note of wisdom from our wise, wise friend Patrick Hamelin: a lot of successful AI agencies don’t have beautiful websites.
“Websites aren’t a dealbreaker. Invest in good solutions first,” he suggests. If you don’t already have a website, I recommend poking around WordPress, Webflow, Wix, or another one of the world-class, W-named website builders.
Payment service: You’ll need people to pay you (in an ideal world), and the start-up builder’s payment system of choice is usually Stripe.
We use Stripe. Every entrepreneur on Reddit advocates for Stripe. I assume Stripe runs half the internet by now. Once you start making money, you’ll appreciate how easy it is to send invoices, set up recurring billing, or take payments straight through a checkout link. It also plays nicely with most CRMs and project management tools.
There are two essential components of an AI agency: building and selling. Do you want to do both on your own? I’m not saying it’s impossible. Not at all. Nonetheless, according to Perron, who has seen his fair share of AI agencies get started, it’s unlikely.
“If you’re working solo, you need to be both a technical expert and a salesperson. You can do both. But if my experience in this market has taught me anything, it’s that most people aren't good at both.”
In all honesty, the most enormous red flag we see in early agencies is a 1-person show that thinks they can do both. Hamelin agrees, “When I see an agency that’s lacking on the selling or building side, I tell them it’s the first need they need to fix.” Where to find your other half?
Of course, there are other tasks you might want, but don’t have the skills to pull off. That’s all good. That’s precisely what freelancers are for. Freelancers, don’t forget. You have a world of work-for-hire at your fingertips. You shouldn’t hire for full-time roles until you have a consistent cash flow. But in the meantime, you should make use of freelancers for tasks like:
We understand that your internal workflows will change as you adapt to new challenges and unexpected requests, both positive and negative. Nevertheless, you need to determine what you will do when those first clients arrive. How are you managing files and inputs? Clients will send you things in all formats:
Set up a centralized location to collect all items. Google Drive works fine. So does Notion. Just don’t let it live in your inbox. What tools are you using to track progress? Start simple. A Trello board, a Notion tracker, and a Google Sheet. It doesn’t matter—just make sure you’re not keeping everything in your head.
That scales terribly. How will you monitor and maintain bots after launch? Yes, you should be checking logs. No, you don’t need a complete monitoring stack right away. Nonetheless, you do need a plan for how I’ll keep bots running and how you will identify issues before your clients do.
Start defining roles now. Builder, PM, support, etc. Yeah, it might seem silly if you’re a one-person show. But that way, when you start hiring freelancers or scaling your agency, you’re not rebuilding everything from scratch.
What will you need from your clients to succeed? What pattern of back-and-forth will you follow to get from initial call to final stage product (to countless iterations and improvements)? You should have it down pat before you book your first client. You don’t want to appear as though you’re making up your process on the fly.
How often will I give updates? Pick a rhythm and stick to it. Weekly check-ins? Loom videos? Email summaries? Select a format that suits you and sets expectations for communication. Of course, confirm that it works for your client and adapt it to their needs as much as possible.
What’s your revision and feedback process? Clients will have notes. Decide now how many rounds I’ll allow, how they should deliver feedback (ideally not via 14 separate emails), and what happens after launch if they want further changes. Are you training the client at the end?
If they’ll be editing the bot themselves, even a 10-minute Loom walkthrough can save you hours of future support. If it’s fully managed, make sure they know how to submit change requests.
Talking about the legal side of your AI agency is the most daunting, but – just like half the items on this list – arguably the most important. Here are 4 of the things you’ll need to consider if you’re serious about starting an AI agency (if you’re, as the kids say, for real). Set up an LLC corporation or an S-Corp.
If you're charging people money, you shouldn't be doing it as a random person on the internet. Please note that the name of this will vary depending on your country of residence. (USA = LLC, Canada = Corporation, Europe = SE, etc.)
Setting up an LLC (a limited liability company) protects your assets if a client sues you, doesn’t pay, or claims your bot destroyed their business (but… try not to build a bot that kills their business anyway). Since this varies significantly by country, I won’t delve into the specifics. Nevertheless, please check the requirements for the country you’re in, as well as the necessary documents for a business bank account.
You’ll also need a business bank account. Go to your bank. Open a business account. Similar to the above, this is intended to limit your liability. It’s not hard to do. And yes, you have to do it. Contracts and agreements. Please don’t start a project without a contract. I don’t care if it’s your best friend’s startup or your cousin’s crypto side hustle.
Put it in writing. At minimum, your contract should cover: Scope of work (what’s included and what’s not) Payment terms (when you get paid and how) Who owns what (especially for anything AI-generated) How either of you can walk away if it all goes south You can start with a solid template (Bonsai, SPP, Docracy, etc.), but have a lawyer glance at it once you start closing real deals.
Bonus points if you use something like a Master Service Agreement (MSA) it’s common in the U.S. and a few other markets. It essentially outlines the general terms once, so future projects don’t require a new contract every time. Data privacy and compliance If you’re building AI solutions that touch customer data, you’re also signing up for the fun world of compliance.
Let’s start with the obvious: who owns the data? The inputs, the outputs, the model itself? You need to be clear on that in your contract. Some clients will assume everything is theirs, even if you’re using your pre-trained bot or templates. Now for the legal part. If your clients are in the EU (hi, GDPR) or California (hi, CCPA), those privacy laws probably apply to you too, even if you’re not based there.
Go read up on how they’ll impact your solutions (which will be use-case-specific). You can read our short guide on making GDPR-compliant chatbots. You don’t need to be a privacy lawyer. Still, you do need:
Okay, this is going to be the most exciting step. Why? Because I do lead generation for a living. And you know what? I’m excited to talk about it. There are a few buckets of lead generation tactics (and you can always go the AI lead generation route). Can you go for more than one? Absolutely.
How should I pick which one to go for? I’m glad you asked. How to choose a lead generation strategy? Does your offer require a conversation or a click?
If your product or service is a turnkey solution or a quick template, consider scaling it. Outbound will be your friend. If you’re offering something more expensive or custom (or you’re offering consulting or strategy), you need to establish trust and a strong reputation.
In this case, you should aim for thought leadership. Build in public, create a digital presence. Become a LinkedIn influencer, if you must. Do you have time to spare? If you’re starting an AI agency as a side hustle alongside your full-time job, I can afford to play the long game. To achieve long-term results, I can begin by establishing a reputation through:
But if I’m trying to get clients ASAP, aim for the shorter-term wins: cold outreach. DMs, emails, you can even call people if you want. What is your budget and labor allocation? If you have the resources, pick a few strategies and diversify. Doing both outbound and inbound is always the safer bet. If you’re alone, and I’m trying to speedrun it? Pick one channel and go deep.
Where does your ICP spend time? Believe me, I wasted too much time marketing to developers on LinkedIn before I realized that most developers do too. Not. Go. On LinkedIn. If it helps to narrow it down, consider where your ideal customer profile (ICP) typically congregates. This is also a good opportunity to finalize your ICP, if you haven’t already done so.
Types of Lead Generation Cold outreach I know – cold outreach sucks. But if it never worked, no one would do it. I’ll be upfront about the crappy part: you’ll have to send about 100 emails to get five responses (if you do a good job at it). But let’s focus on the positives of cold outreach:
Cold outreach goes beyond emails. You can start posting messages on any social media platform that might be a better fit for your agency's niche. Content marketing will bring you inbound traffic, and not a lot of those people will want to buy something from you. But you know what? Some of them will. And that’s pretty cool.
Content marketing is especially fantastic for founder-led agencies. Why? People prefer to buy from knowledgeable individuals who are experts in the product, rather than a salesperson who has been trained on a few key talking points. Start making YouTube videos. They can be:
Start posting on Twitter (no, you can’t make me call it X). And of course, start becoming a LinkedIn influencer. You can also publish articles on your website as another form of content marketing.
Nevertheless, as a professional content marketer, I’d suggest saving this until you have a few employees under your belt. Why? It often requires more SEO knowledge, and it’s a slower-burning tactic than social media.
Everyone loves a lead magnet. Free stuff? Yeah, take my email. Lead magnets are how you’ll capture some emails (and then you can transition from cold outreach to warm-ish outreach). And let me tell you, nothing feels better than a warm lead after running through pages and pages of cold leads.
You can use almost anything as a lead magnet. It just needs to be worth someone’s email. Ordinary lead magnets include:
You can find partners in all sorts of places:
The tricky part? You have to build relationships. Partnerships are slower to start, but once they’re rolling, they can give you a consistent stream of warm leads with zero ad spend. If your offer is simple, repeatable, and makes someone else look smart for recommending it, congrats, you’re partnership material.
You don’t need a client to get started; you just need a problem and a basic AI solution that proves you know what you’re doing. A proof of concept should be fast, focused, and scrappy. It’s not a portfolio piece; it’s a conversation starter. Build something that solves a single pain point using the tools you plan to offer, like:
Keep it simple, show it off, and see who bites. Do some pro bono work. Free work isn’t the enemy; bad free work is. If you’re going to work for free, make sure you get something out of it. A case study, a testimonial, a warm intro to a CEO’s group chat—whatever helps you grow. And don’t just build anything for anyone. Choose a company in your target niche so the project helps position you for future work.
Make sure the scope is clear. “Free” doesn’t mean unlimited revisions and a Slack channel full of feature requests. Build a complete (or multiple) prototype. Sometimes, the fastest way to secure client work is to build as if you already have client work. Pick a few industries you want to target and develop fully functional AI agents for them:
These don’t need to be client-ready; they just need to be polished enough to demo or reuse as templates. Once they’re built, you can reuse them in cold outreach, on your website, or in lead magnets. You’re not waiting for permission; you’re showing what’s possible.
This is one of the significant decisions you’ll have to make. Nevertheless, fret not; you can constantly adjust it as you learn and grow. Part of the reason pricing is such a big question is that the hundreds of AI agencies I’ve interacted with do everything. That means a ton of agencies will opt to sell a service instead of a product alone. A lot of agencies will:
Under this model, updates are typically included in the maintenance cost. Of course, recurring revenue is usually the goal. It’s more stable and practical. We all love getting a regular cheque in the mail. “You want to know how much the problem costs,” explains Hamelin. “Agencies aren’t selling tools. They’re solving problems. Figure out how much that problem is worth to your prospect.”
Initial build pricing depends on complexity, involvement, and the type of client you’re targeting. Custom projects are high-ticket, ranging from $5,000 to $50,000+, billed as a flat fee or by milestone. These take time and usually involve deep integrations or compliance-heavy builds.
Template-based projects typically fall within the $1,500 to $10,000 range. They start with a base template and get lightly customized, with optional add-ons for support or integrations. Turnkey solutions are the most scalable and lowest—priced, typically ranging from $50 to $500 per month, either as a subscription or a setup fee plus monthly charges.
Best for niche problems with repeatable value. And remember, don’t price based on how long it takes you to build; price based on how much it’s worth to the client.
Maintenance costs
Not every AI agency will handle maintenance packages. Perhaps you’re simply enhancing existing AI systems. Maybe you sell solutions and cut ties afterward. It’s good to have a maintenance package. Monitoring and improving AI agents is crucial. But selling a pure subscription can be a mistake.
A ton of amateurs get nervous that they’re not going to get repeat business. So what do they do? They make hella expensive upkeep packages.
Sell only what maintenance costs you. Trust that repeat business will come without forcing it into your contracts. “I rehire every good contractor every time I need them,” Perron says. “But if they had forced me into a pricey long-term contract? I probably wouldn’t be working with them.” Don’t kill your business out of fear that my clients will leave.
AI Acquisition is my company that helps professionals and business owners start and scale AI-driven businesses by leveraging existing AI tools and our proprietary AI operating system, ai-clients.com. You don't need to:
AI does a lot of the heavy lifting for you. Check out a free training to see how I used this exact system to transition from a burned-out corporate director to earning $500,000 per month in under two years. Feel free also to book an AI strategy call with one of our consultants to explore how you can leverage your existing skills and experience to launch a successful AI business.
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