How much does an AI employee cost in 2026?

What counts as an AI employee?

“AI employee” is a name for several different products. Some are apps with named AI helpers that write emails, posts, and replies. Some are agents you set up for your own tasks. Some only answer customer service chats. And some are teams that an agency or a service sets up and runs for you. Each one is priced differently, so the first question is which kind you're comparing. For how we use the term at MOVA, see what an AI employee is.

This guide collects what vendors publish on their own US pricing pages, read on Oct 18, 2026, and what each one meters. Prices change, so every figure here carries that date.

What do AI employees cost, by type?

The self-serve apps are the cheapest way in, and you can sign up and start the same day. What they leave to you is the setup: you connect your tools, write the instructions, and check what the helpers produce. For the apps and MOVA side by side, see our dated comparison.

What does AI customer service cost per conversation?

Customer service AI is often priced by results, not by seats. Intercom charges $0.99 per outcome for its Fin AI Agent, at most once per conversation, and nothing when Fin can't answer or the customer asks for a person. Its helpdesk seats start at $19/month each, billed annually. Gorgias adds its AI Agent from $30/month for 30 automated interactions, on top of a helpdesk plan that starts at $10/month, billed monthly.

Pricing per conversation keeps the bill small when volume is low, and it grows with your store. The drawing below shows how the AI part of the bill moves with volume at $0.99 a conversation, before any helpdesk seats.

How does that compare with hiring a person?

A person is the other benchmark. Customer service representatives in the US earned a median $21.53 an hour in May 2025, or $44,770 a year, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. Wages aren't the whole cost: in private industry, benefits made up 30% of what employers spent per hour worked in June 2026 (BLS).

A person and an AI tool don't do the same job. A person handles judgment, exceptions, and an upset customer. AI is good at the questions that repeat, at any hour. That's why the price matters less than what each option actually does in your store.

What doesn't show on the price page?

• What's metered, and what happens at zero. Sintra's 250 monthly credits reset each month, with top-ups for more. Lindy pauses credit-using actions when its credits run out, until they reset or you top up at $10 per 1,000. Ask how far a month of credits goes for your kind of work.
• Per user or per seat. Lindy bills each active user, and Intercom's helpdesk is priced per seat. Gorgias prices its helpdesk by tickets instead. Count who on your team will use it.
• Volume. A price per conversation grows with your store, so a busy holiday month costs more than a quiet one.
• Your time. With a self-serve app, the setup is yours: connecting your accounts, writing the instructions, and checking the results. That time is part of the cost.
• The rest of the stack. An AI app sits on top of your store, not instead of it. You still pay for the platform, its apps, hosting, and upkeep. Shopify lists $29, $79, or $299/month billed yearly ($39, $105, or $399 billed monthly). A WordPress care plan at WP Buffs is $89 to $359/month, and $239/month for a WooCommerce store.

What should you ask before you pay?

1. 1What's metered, and what happens when it runs out? Credits, hours, seats, or conversations, and whether the work stops or the bill grows.
2. 2Is it priced per user? How many people on your team will need a seat.
3. 3What does setup include, and who does it? Connecting your store, teaching it your policies, and testing its answers.
4. 4What can it see? Only what you paste in, or your real orders, inventory, and customers.
5. 5What does it do on its own? Which actions wait for your OK, and which don't.
6. 6Who answers when it breaks? A chat, an email address, or a person you can reach, and when.
7. 7How do you leave? The contract, the refund terms, and what happens to your data.

Where does MOVA fit?

MOVA isn't an app you add to your store, so it isn't in the table above. It rebuilds your store as a new, fast site, runs it on one admin, and gives it a team of 11 AI agents, one for each department.

MOVA is $149/month before sales tax for a new site, one admin, hosting and upkeep, and all 11 AI agents at Basic. AI usage is included in normal volume. No credits to buy. You can upgrade any agent on its own to Premium or Master, for $29 to $99 a month per agent. Setup and the move are a one-time fee, quoted after a short call.

So MOVA costs more each month than the self-serve apps. The fairer comparison is what a store pays for its site, its upkeep, and the help around it: a care plan plus an AI app, an agency, or a person's hours.