What does your AI agent actually save?
A vendor-neutral business case. It ramps containment instead of assuming day-one steady state, counts the contained contacts that come back, and shows where per-minute and per-resolution pricing cross.
AI agent business case · 07/11/2026 · genai4business.com/tools/business-case
Business case summary
100,000 contacts/month · target containment 35% · per-minute pricing · 24-month horizon. Illustrative model; every assumption is listed below.
This is the cheaper model for your scenario.
- Net benefit · 24 mo
- €2.08M
- after implementation
- Payback
- M4
- cumulative turns positive
- ROI
- 193%
- net benefit ÷ AI spend
- Steady-state saving
- €102K
- per month, after ramp-up
Cumulative net benefit
Dots mark payback- Per-minute pricing
- Per-resolution pricing
Month-by-month table
| Month | Containment | Human cost | AI usage | Net / month | Cumulative |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| M1 | 10% | €306K | €20.4K | €33.8K | −€116K |
| M2 | 14% | €294K | €21.4K | €45.2K | −€71K |
| M3 | 18% | €281K | €22.4K | €56.7K | −€14.3K |
| M4 | 22% | €269K | €23.4K | €68.1K | €53.9K |
| M5 | 27% | €256K | €24.4K | €79.6K | €133K |
| M6 | 35% | €231K | €26.4K | €102K | €236K |
| M7 | 35% | €231K | €26.4K | €102K | €338K |
| M8 | 35% | €231K | €26.4K | €102K | €441K |
| M9 | 35% | €231K | €26.4K | €102K | €543K |
| M10 | 35% | €231K | €26.4K | €102K | €646K |
| M11 | 35% | €231K | €26.4K | €102K | €748K |
| M12 | 35% | €231K | €26.4K | €102K | €851K |
| M13 | 35% | €231K | €26.4K | €102K | €953K |
| M14 | 35% | €231K | €26.4K | €102K | €1.06M |
| M15 | 35% | €231K | €26.4K | €102K | €1.16M |
| M16 | 35% | €231K | €26.4K | €102K | €1.26M |
| M17 | 35% | €231K | €26.4K | €102K | €1.36M |
| M18 | 35% | €231K | €26.4K | €102K | €1.47M |
| M19 | 35% | €231K | €26.4K | €102K | €1.57M |
| M20 | 35% | €231K | €26.4K | €102K | €1.67M |
| M21 | 35% | €231K | €26.4K | €102K | €1.77M |
| M22 | 35% | €231K | €26.4K | €102K | €1.88M |
| M23 | 35% | €231K | €26.4K | €102K | €1.98M |
| M24 | 35% | €231K | €26.4K | €102K | €2.08M |
Which pricing model?
With these prices the two models cost the same at 27% containment. Below it, paying per resolution protects you; above it, per-minute is cheaper. Your target is 35%, so per-minute wins at steady state.
| Steady state | Per minute | Per resolution |
|---|---|---|
| AI cost per true resolutionusage ÷ contained contacts that do not come back | €0.84 | €1.00 |
| AI usage per month | €26.4K | €31.5K |
| Net benefit · 24 mo | €2.08M | €2.01M |
| Payback | M4 | M3 |
Human cost per contact today: €3.73. Per-resolution vendors usually bill every contained contact, including the 10% that come back, which is why the effective price is above the list price.
What moves the number
Steady-state saving / monthBase: €102K. Bars show the range when one input moves and everything else stays put. Widest bar first: that is the assumption to defend.
- Target containment ±10 pts€75K → €130K
- Agent cost / hour ±€5€77.1K → €128K
- Avg handle time ±1 min€78.8K → €126K
- Repeat contacts ±5 pts€95.9K → €109K
Assumptions
- Contacts per month
- 100,000
- Avg handle time
- 6 min
- Loaded agent cost / hour
- €28
- Occupancy
- 75%
- Containment at go-live
- 10%
- Target containment
- 35%
- Ramp-up
- 6 months
- Repeat contacts
- 10%
- Handoff AHT saving
- 10%
- AI minutes, contained
- 3.5 min
- AI minutes, before handoff
- 1.5 min
- Price per AI minute
- €0.12
- Price per resolution
- €0.90
- Platform fee / month
- €5,000
- Implementation (one-off)
- €150,000
- Internal run / month
- €8,000
- Horizon
- 24 months
Deliberately not modelled
CSAT and revenue effects, agent attrition and hiring, peak staffing (Erlang), compliance and data-protection work. They matter, and they are where business cases get inflated, so they stay out of the headline number. Raise them in the conversation, not in the spreadsheet.