The ROI formula
Count the time to review AI drafts and handle exceptions. Leaving that out makes the result look better than it is.
Hours saved per month = monthly cases x (old minutes - new minutes) / 60
Monthly net benefit = (hours saved x loaded hourly labor cost)
+ measured reduction in error costs
- software cost
- setup cost spread over its useful life
- extra review and maintenance labor
ROI = monthly net benefit / total monthly automation cost x 100"Loaded hourly labor cost" should reflect what the time really costs your business. If you use the saved time for sales or production, record that value separately instead of pretending every free minute becomes cash.
A worked example (illustrative numbers only)
- 200 cases a month used to take 6 minutes and now take 3, including draft review: 10 hours saved.
- At an assumed $20 per hour, the time value is $200. Measured error costs fall by $60.
- Costs: software $50, setup spread to $30 a month, extra monitoring $40, a total of $120.
- Monthly net benefit: $260 - $120 = $140. ROI: 140 / 120, about 117%.
These are sample assumptions, not industry benchmarks. Your order volume, wages, error history and tool bills decide the real answer. NIST's framework also calls for documented measures and ongoing monitoring rather than relying on one successful demo.
No-code, AI assistant or custom code?
Use the simplest option that the people who will own it can test and maintain.
| If the task looks like this | Start here | Keep this control |
|---|---|---|
| "If an open order is one day from its ship-by date, alert the owner." | A no-code rule or a basic scheduled script | Check that dates, time zones and statuses match the source platform |
| "Read a customer's question and draft an answer from our approved policies." | An AI assistant with a controlled knowledge base | Require review for refunds, delivery promises, complaints and uncertain answers |
| "Join several systems, apply unusual rules and keep detailed logs." | Custom code, if the volume justifies maintaining it | Test failures, permissions, retries and what happens when an integration stops |
An agent that can write to an order system deserves more scrutiny than one that only drafts text. Start with read-only access where possible, add actions gradually, and require human approval for anything that affects customers or money. This is my operating recommendation, based on the risk-control approach in NIST's framework.
Not sure which tasks to start with? Read what to automate first.
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Rules, numbers and dates change often. This page reflects the sources below as checked on Oct 9, 2026, so confirm the current version before you act.