Done for you AI automation: what to expect

Ward Consulting AI · November 11, 2026

What done for you should cover

A done-for-you service should take the building off your plate. The provider chooses the first job with you, maps how it runs, sets up the helpers, tests them in a safe mode and keeps a daily check going so you can see the results. You should spend your time answering questions about your business, not configuring software.

The scope should be specific. Ask the provider to name the first job, the people it touches and the output you will see. A service that describes its scope only in broad terms, such as all your AI needs, is asking you to fill in the details later at your own cost.

What stays yours

Some things should always stay with you. The decisions about what your business promises, what it charges and how it speaks to customers are yours. So are the approvals for anything that spends money, anything that reaches a customer for the first time and anything that can't be undone. A done-for-you provider can draft and recommend, but the decision is yours.

Ownership of the setup is the other thing that should stay with you. Check where the accounts live, who can sign in and how you would take everything with you if you left. If the answer is unclear, you are not buying done for you. You are renting a black box.

How the work is handed over

A clean handover is one of the best signs of a serious provider. Ask how the first job moves from the provider's hands to yours, what you are shown and what you are asked to approve. In our process, the free call comes first, then a map of one job that you can read and correct, then a setup in your own AI account where helpers write drafts only.

From there, the daily check takes over. It reports whether each helper ran, what it made and what is waiting for you. You should be able to read that report in a few minutes, and you should know exactly what to do when something needs your answer.

At handover, ask for a short written record of the job as it was set up. It should name the trigger, the steps, who approves each one and what finished looks like. That record is what lets you check the work later, change a rule without starting over and show a new person how the job is meant to run. A provider who will not write it down has kept the knowledge in their own hands.

Questions for judging a provider

Use these questions to test a done-for-you claim before you pay. A confident, specific answer to each one is a good sign. A vague answer is a reason to keep looking.

1. Which single job will you handle first, and what does finished look like?
2. What exactly do I approve, and what runs without me?
3. Whose account holds the setup, and how do I take it with me?
4. What do I see each day, and what is waiting for my yes?
5. How do I stop everything, and how quickly does it stop?
6. What does the monthly price include, and what is billed separately?

Approvals that never run on their own

Done for you should never mean done without you. Anything that spends money, anything that goes to a customer for the first time and anything that can't be undone waits for your approval. Silence does not count as agreement, so an item you have not read stays in your queue until you act on it. Check that the queue is easy to find each day, because an approval you cannot locate is effectively a no, and a helper that waits forever on your yes is only useful if you can see what it is waiting for.

Helpers also identify themselves as AI and stay within the information you point them at. You can halt any helper at any time by typing PAUSE. A provider who treats those limits as optional is not offering a done-for-you service you should trust with your customers.

Plans, prices and where we stand

Plans are open now, and you can cancel anytime. The free tier includes the Email and Inbox Agent and the Workflow Agent. Starter is $29.99 a month for one paid agent of your choice. Pro is $99.99 a month for all four paid agents. Elite is $249 a month for teams of up to 20 seats. Your own AI account is paid separately, so ask any provider to show you the full monthly cost, including that line.

For a fuller look at how a first job is chosen, what AI automation services cover is a useful companion. If you want a checklist to bring to any sales call, ten questions before you buy AI agents is the one to print.

Where to start

If you want to see which job is worth handing over first, find where to start. If you want to try the free basics on your own first, the free step-by-step Grok training is available.