Every business has jobs someone does by hand every day: copying sales into the books, chasing reviews, building the Monday report, calling back the customers nobody reached. Add a second or a tenth location and those jobs multiply.
Trilix AI is an AI automation agency. We find that work, build the automations and agents that take it over, and keep them running. This page explains what an agency like us does, how pricing usually works and how to choose one, including the questions that would rule us out.
Quick answer
An AI automation agency finds the repetitive work in your business, builds automations and AI agents to do it, and maintains them after launch. Good agencies start from your process, connect to the tools you already use and tell you which parts need AI and which are plain rules. Most price as a setup fee plus a monthly fee or retainer.
The best candidates happen often, follow clear rules and can be counted. Daily POS exports, missed calls, inspection paperwork and weekly reports usually top the list. Anything that happens twice a year rarely pays back.
Some are plain logic, like posting yesterday's sales to QuickBooks. Some need AI, like answering a caller or reading an invoice. A good agency builds each part the cheapest reliable way.
POS, accounting, payroll, phones, CRM, scheduling and cameras, through each system's official connection or a scheduled export.
Software updates break automations quietly. Someone has to watch the runs, fix what fails and handle the next request. That's what the monthly fee pays for.
The full list, with examples, is on our workflow automation services page.
There are four common models. None is always better, but you should know which one you're signing.
| Model | How it works | Watch for |
|---|---|---|
| Fixed project fee | One price for a defined build | Changes after launch are billed separately |
| Setup fee plus monthly | A build fee, then a monthly fee for hosting, monitoring and changes | What the monthly fee includes, and the notice period to cancel |
| Monthly retainer | A set amount of work each month | Unused hours, and whether builds are scoped per month |
| Per automation or per task | A price per workflow or per run | Costs that grow faster than the value as volume rises |
We use setup plus monthly. The setup fee is quoted after the first call. The monthly fee covers hosting, monitoring, fixes, small changes and new items on the roadmap. Our AI cost guide lists what other firms publish, so you have something to compare against.
Ask every agency the same questions. Here's what a good answer sounds like, and what should worry you.
| Question to ask | A good answer | A red flag |
|---|---|---|
| What have you built for a business like mine? | Specific systems, with the client's permission to describe them | Only demos, or only screenshots of other people's tools |
| How will you connect to my POS, accounting and phones? | Names the official integration or export for each | "We'll figure it out" |
| Which parts use AI, and which are rules? | A clear split, with reasons | AI everywhere, even for simple data moves |
| What happens when an automation breaks? | Monitoring, alerts and a fix time in writing | "It won't break" |
| Who owns the data and the accounts? | You do, in writing | Data held in the agency's accounts with no export |
| What does the monthly fee include? | A specific list | A vague "support" line |
| Who will I actually work with? | The people who scope and build it | A salesperson, then a handoff |
Ask to see one of their live systems running, even on a screen share. Demos on sample data are useful, but they aren't proof that the agency has shipped to a real client. On our case studies page, client work and demo builds are labelled separately for that reason.
| Freelancer | DIY no-code tools | Software vendor | AI automation agency | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Speed to first result | Fast for small jobs | Fast if you have the time | Fast if the product fits | Days to weeks |
| Handles several systems at once | Depends on the person | Gets fragile | Within its own product | Yes |
| Maintenance after launch | Often ends with the project | You | Vendor support | Included in the monthly fee |
| Best for | One well-defined task | Simple jobs and a technical owner | A standard process | Operations across locations and systems |
We're a good fit if you run one or more locations, your work spans several systems, and you want one team to scope, build and run it. Most of our client work is with multi-location operators in the US, and we also work in Canada, the UK and Europe.
We're probably not the right fit if you need one simple Zapier workflow, a large transformation program across dozens of departments, or a marketing agency. For a fair look at other firms, read our roundup of the best AI automation agencies for multi-location businesses. We wrote it, and we say so at the top.
Based near Toronto? See our page for Toronto, Vaughan and Ontario.
Something else on your mind? Ask us directly or call 416-262-2723.
It finds repetitive work in a business, builds automations and AI agents to handle it, connects them to the business's existing tools and maintains them after launch.
It depends on the model. Most agencies charge a fixed project fee, a setup fee plus monthly, a retainer or a per-automation price. We charge a setup fee plus a monthly fee, quoted after the first call. See the AI cost guide.
Often, if the same task eats hours every week. If one off-the-shelf tool already does the job, start there. Our AI for small business page covers both routes.
Most first builds go live in about 10 days from an agreed spec.
No. Many of the most reliable automations are plain rules. We use AI for the parts that need judgment, like conversations and documents.
In our experience it takes the copy-paste work off people so they can spend their time on customers and decisions. Anything sensitive can wait for a person's approval.
On a 30-minute call we'll show you what we've automated for operators like you and what we'd start with for you.
