How much an AI assistant costs for small business in 2026

Component 1: setup fee. One-time charge for setup. Includes: infrastructure deployment, prompt writing, integrations with your systems (CRM, booking, payments), testing. Depending on complexity — €500-2500.

Component 2: monthly subscription. Platform access, monitoring, updates, tech support. €300-2000/mo by tier. Tiers usually differ by channel count (1 vs 4), dialog volume, and access to extra features.

Component 3: AI tokens (LLM). What you pay OpenAI/Anthropic per message. For Claude Sonnet 4: ~$0.003 per 1000 input tokens and $0.015 per 1000 output. For a business with 100 dialogs/day — $30-80/mo. In most MTDK ai tiers a base volume is included.

Component 4: integrations. Standard ones (Telegram, Instagram, Google Calendar) — in the package. Non-standard (1C, specific MIS, custom software) — from €200 to €1000 one-time.

Scenario bot (Manychat, Chatfuel): $15-50/mo. Fits simple funnels ('Hi, how can I help? → menu → option 1'). Can't run free-form dialogs. Doesn't scale for a business with 50+ question types.

AI plugins for websites (Intercom Fin, Drift): $200-500/mo. Already AI, runs on a general knowledge base. Doesn't integrate with Ukrainian CRMs, limited customization.

Custom solution from scratch (via developer or agency): €5000-15000 one-time + €100-500/mo hosting. Most customizable but needs ongoing tech support.

Ready platform with custom prompt (MTDK ai, similar): €300-2000/mo. Best price/quality balance for small business. Ready infra + your specific tuning.

Example 1: Beauty salon in Lviv. 1 channel (Instagram), 80 dialogs/day, EasyWeek integration. Setup: €700. Subscription: €350/mo. Payback: 1 month (via -1 admin).

Example 2: Dental clinic in Kyiv (case study). 3 channels (Telegram + Instagram + Viber), 200 dialogs/day, Helsi and Google Calendar integration. Setup: €1200. Subscription: €500/mo. Payback: 18 days (via +38% bookings).

Example 3: Cosmetics online store, 4 channels (Telegram + Instagram + Email + site chat), 500 dialogs/day, KeyCRM and Nova Poshta API integration, recommendation AI. Setup: €1800. Subscription: €1200/mo. Payback: 2 months (via +31% conversion and cart recovery).

Step 1: estimate volume. How many messages/day now? Multiply by 1.3 (AI receives more than the admin manages). Up to 100/day — basic tier. 100-500 — mid. 500+ — top.

Step 2: count channels. 1 channel — min tier. 2-3 — mid. 4+ — top. More channels = more monitoring and routing logic.

Step 3: evaluate integrations. Standard (Google Calendar, popular CRMs) — included. Custom (1C, your own MIS) — extra.

Step 4: calculate payback. How much are you losing now from slow replies / missed evening inquiries / double bookings? That's your savings from AI. If savings >2× AI cost — definitely worth it.

Time to 'train' AI. The first 2-4 weeks you have to review dialogs, add rules, fix mistakes. Not a paid component but 5-10 hours of your time per week in the first month.

Process changes. AI works well when your business process is clear. Often before AI you have to tidy up: document pricing, systematize schedules, write the FAQ. That's separate work — 2-5 workdays.

Support on your side. Someone on the team must 'own' the AI process. That's 1-2 hours per week: checking dialogs, updating the knowledge base, adding new promotions.

Team changes. If AI replaces an admin — your payroll drops. Plan for it: either downsize or shift the person to other tasks.