4 min read · updated 2026-10-18
How long does it take to build an AI agent or an automation?
Short answer
A chat assistant trained on your answers takes 3–5 working days. One that books from a live calendar takes 7–10. Voice with a CRM record takes 2–3 weeks. A single automation is often 2–4 days; a full intake is 1–2 weeks. Those dates assume access and answers arrive when asked. Waiting on a login moves the date more than the build does.
The ranges I actually sell
These are the delivery windows on the packages, not a slogan. They are working days, and they start once the scope is signed and the access is in place.
- AI agent, Basic, chat on your site, up to 20 answers: 3–5 working days, from $150.
- AI agent, Standard, live calendar booking and handoff: 7–10 working days, from $300.
- AI agent, Premium, voice, CRM record, escalation: 2–3 weeks, from $500.
- Automation, one workflow and two tools: 2–4 working days, from $120.
- Automation, up to three lead sources into one CRM: 1–2 weeks, from $250.
- A landing page: 4–7 working days, from $180. A site of up to six pages: 2–3 weeks, from $350.
- Salesforce tidy-up or one AWS deploy: 3–5 working days, from $150.
What moves the date
Two things, almost every time. The first is access: the calendar, the CRM, the WhatsApp or phone account, the Salesforce sandbox. I cannot book against a calendar I cannot read.
The second is the answers. An assistant is only as finished as the twenty replies you are willing to stand behind. Writing those, in the words customers use, takes longer than wiring the widget. If they arrive late, the date moves, and you hear that when I know — not on the last day.
What I will not promise
I will not promise a production phone system, a multi-team Salesforce rebuild, or a mobile app with accounts inside a long weekend. Premium web or mobile work is 3–5 weeks, from $500, because accounts and an admin view are a different product from a landing page.
Hosted AI receptionists advertise setup in an afternoon because the product already exists. A build is slower on purpose: the boundary, the failure path, and the handover are part of the time. If someone quotes voice, CRM, and a custom stack in two days, ask what they are leaving out.
A sensible order if you are in a hurry
Ship the smallest package that removes the pain. Chat before voice. One workflow before three sources. The landing page before the app. Each later package includes the one below it, so you pay the difference rather than starting again. Speed comes from a smaller scope, not from skipping the test against the awkward case.
This is what I do: AI Agents & Voice Assistants — three packages from $150.
