How to start an AI automation agency (with examples)

There’s never been a better time to be in the B2B or tech space: everyone’s either building an AI automation agency or hiring one. And honestly, it makes sense.

By now, we all know that AI isn’t just a trend anymore. I mean, just look at what the CEO of Shopify said about how all employees will need to use AI. Companies are now expected to use AI to create faster workflows, make smarter decisions, and have fewer repetitive tasks (done by humans). Whether you’re a startup or a Fortune 500, AI is becoming part of the stack.

That said, most companies don’t have the in-house talent (or time) to build these systems themselves, or even know what they can automate.

That’s where AI automation agencies come in. They help businesses apply AI in ways that actually move the needle, like automating lead generation, improving customer experience, or saving hours through smart internal tools.

Whether you’re looking to hire one or thinking about starting your own, this post breaks down what AI automation agencies do, the kinds of services they offer, how to start one, and examples of agencies doing it well.

Alright, let’s dig in.

What is an AI automation agency?

An AI automation agency is a firm that helps other businesses find ways to implement AI into their day-to-day operations. These agencies leverage AI technology developed by companies like OpenAI, Google, Microsoft, Anthropic, NVIDIA, and more to develop no-code solutions that allow businesses to integrate automation solutions without the need for extensive programming knowledge.

They often focus on helping businesses cut costs, whether that’s in time or money spent on extra overhead. In many cases, AI automation agencies offer services from AI business consultancy to developing tailored AI-driven tools. There are different agencies for multiple different industries — providing solutions like automated customer service, AI-powered marketing strategies, and efficient data analysis, all designed to optimize operational efficiency and drive business growth.

Types of AI automation services you can offer

AI automation agencies are built to solve real operational problems. This can include things like time-consuming tasks, inconsistent output, or gaps in decision-making. Here are some of the most common services they offer:

Workflow optimization

One of the core services I’ve seen agencies offer is helping businesses cut down on repetitive, manual work. They look at your internal processes, flag areas that are slowing things down, and set up the right AI tools to handle those tasks.

AI-powered content creation

Instead of relying on a large team to write, schedule, and tailor content for different channels, agencies use AI platforms to handle parts of the content pipeline. This includes writing blog posts or captions, scheduling posts across platforms, and tailoring messaging based on the audience. It makes content production more consistent and scalable.

Marketing reporting and analytics

Most teams sit on a pile of marketing data and don’t know what to do with it or how to interpret it. AI automation agencies can use analytics tools to turn that data into something useful, like identifying which campaigns are driving conversions or where ad spend is getting wasted.

Website personalization

Rather than showing the same homepage to everyone, AI tools can adjust content blocks, headlines, and CTAs based on user behavior. Agencies use these tools to make websites feel more relevant to each visitor. That relevance often leads to longer sessions and more conversions.

Sales automation

A lot of sales activity, like scoring leads, sending follow-ups, and booking calls, doesn’t need to be done manually. Agencies can help set up systems and workflows that automate those steps. This way, sales teams can focus on actual conversations and closing deals.

Customer service chatbots

Chatbots aren’t new, but they’ve gotten a lot better thanks to large language models (LLMs). Agencies can set up AI-powered chatbots that can handle FAQs, route inquiries, and even qualify leads. These AI agents are available 24/7, which helps customers get what they need without waiting for a human to be online.

AI product development

Some businesses need something more custom, like a fraud detection system, a personalized product recommender, or an internal tool that doesn’t exist yet. Using tools like n8n or Gumloop, agencies that specialize in AI development can scope and build these apps from scratch based on your use case.

Some agencies also offer more specialized services like:

• Outbound outreach automation: Running AI-personalized email campaigns that scale prospecting efforts.
• Internal AI tooling: Building custom dashboards or tools that help teams make faster decisions.
• White-label AI ad platforms: Giving your agency access to advanced AI-powered ad tools that you can rebrand and resell.

As AI continues to evolve, especially with more advanced agent builders being launched, we’ll see even more services emerge. The agencies that stay curious and move fast will be the ones riding the AI wave.

Alright, now let’s talk about how you can start your own AI automation agency.

How to start an AI automation agency in 5 steps

Here are five steps to starting your AI automation agency:

1. Find a service you’re excited about
2. Validate your idea with outreach
3. Build your marketing website
4. Create a client portal backend
5. Market your agency to generate leads

Let’s go over each step in depth.

1. Find a service you’re excited about

The first step to starting your AI automation agency is to find a service you’re genuinely excited about. People often say to “follow your passion,” but I think it’s more about diving into your curiosity, especially when it comes to AI automation.

Start by looking at pain points you’ve experienced firsthand. Think about problems you’ve run into at companies you’ve worked at, or in your own side hustles or businesses. What tasks felt repetitive? What processes made you wonder, "Is there a better way to do this?"

For example, I run an SEO and content agency, and I know there are tons of workflows that could be automated. But I don’t always have the time to sit down and map them all out. Sometimes, it’s just a matter of not knowing what you don’t know. If an AI automation agency approached me with a clear, compelling offer to save me time, and actually showed me how, I’d seriously consider hiring them.

The point is, look for problems that already exist inside businesses. One of the best ways to find them is by being close to the work yourself. If you run your own business or work inside a company, start paying attention to tasks that take longer than they should, especially ones that AI tools could now handle more efficiently.

If you still don’t have any ideas, don’t worry. I’ll show you some examples from real companies later in this article.

Okay, assuming you have a service you want to offer, now we want to validate it with real potential clients.

2. Validate your idea with outreach

The next step is to validate your idea with outreach. Going back to the example of helping an SEO agency automate their content workflows for their clients, if you have a general idea of a service you can offer and you’ve mapped it out, what you want to do next is actually go and look for SEO agencies that are currently serving clients.

You can do this by going on LinkedIn and reaching out to the founders of different SEO agencies. Message them and tell them that you've created this workflow for yourself that has reduced your SEO content creation process from X hours to Y hours (or something along those lines), and send them a personalized note on how you can do it for them.

The goal is to offer some sort of value without asking for much in return, so you can offer a free consultation call. To make this work, you need a lot of volume. So reach out to as many people as you can (in an organic way).

What you’re looking for is to hop on a call with at least five different potential clients who are interested in your services. Ideally, you’ll be able to close one of them during this validation process.

And just to be clear, this isn’t limited to SEO content services. That’s just one example. This can be anything from business operations to recruiting to sales, etc.

Overall, the point is to see if people actually want your services and are willing to pay for them.

3. Build your marketing website

At this point, you probably have a service and maybe one potential client who’s willing to give you a chance. Now it's time to actually create your business, and that starts with your marketing website.

This is essentially the home for your agency services. It's where people can learn more about what you do and book calls with you. It's also a place where you can post testimonials and case studies that will help you get more clients in the future.

I'm not going to go too in-depth on how to actually build your website, there’s already a lot of content out there, but some popular website builders that agencies use include:

• Webflow
• Framer
• WordPress
• Squarespace
• Wix
• Bubble

There are also templates for all of these builders that are designed specifically for agencies, so it shouldn't be too hard to create a website for your AI automation agency.

But having a website isn’t what will really set you apart. After all, all your other competitors will most likely also have a website for their agency showing off their services.

What you want to do is create an amazing client experience that makes your agency feel almost like a SaaS product that your clients can log into on their own time and view everything as it relates to the work you’re doing for them.

This is where the next step comes in.

4. Create a client portal backend

In order to create an amazing client experience, what you want to do is look for a client portal software that allows you to build a backend for your website.

This backend acts almost like a web app for your AI automation agency — a place where your clients can log in, go through onboarding, view and pay invoices, or manage billing and subscriptions. It's also where you can message clients, assign tasks, and share files or contracts.

One tool I personally use to set all this up is Copilot. I use it for the entire backend of my agency's website so my clients can log into their dashboard and view project timelines, check analytics dashboards, message me directly, or submit payment details to purchase add-on services. For me, it pretty much turns any agency into something that feels like a SaaS product.

Here’s a demo of how the platform works:

I've already written a handful of guides on how you can implement a client portal like this into your website, so here are the guides below:

• A guide for making Webflow client portals
• A guide for making Squarespace client portals
• A guide for making WordPress client portals
• A guide for making Framer client portals
• A guide for making Wix client portals

And if your website is built with a custom solution, you can also check out this article that shows you how to create a Copilot client portal for any website.

At this point, you now have a fully functioning website and a complete backend that allows you to onboard new clients, get them set up, and collect payments. All that’s left is to focus on delivering an amazing service with your first client, which you can turn into a case study, and then start marketing your agency to get more clients.

5. Market your agency to generate leads

Once you have one paying client who loves your services, the next step is going out and finding more companies and businesses that could benefit from what your AI automation agency offers.

There are a lot of different ways you can approach marketing. I actually have an article you can check out that goes deeper into agency growth tactics. But here are a few strategies that work well today:

• Create SEO-focused content on your website that targets keywords around AI automation in the specific industry you serve.
• Do newsletter sponsorships, specifically with newsletters you believe your target customer is subscribed to.
• Partner with micro-influencers in your niche whose audience likely overlaps with your potential clients.
• Publish content on LinkedIn and X (formerly Twitter), especially if you're in the B2B space. Share workflows you’ve automated and teach businesses how they can automate their own.
• Create YouTube videos that show how to automate services. In the video descriptions, include a link to your website where people can book a call. That way, if business owners want someone to just do it for them, they can reach out directly.

As you can see, there are tons of ways to market your agency. If I were starting from scratch, I’d begin by making YouTube videos where I walk through automating different workflows with the latest AI tools. I’d turn those videos into blog posts that are SEO-optimized, publish them on my site, and then repurpose them into LinkedIn and X posts.

Over time, this content builds credibility. You start to position yourself as a thought leader and a trusted expert in your specific industry or niche. That trust can turn into leads, because some people would rather pay someone to implement these solutions than do it themselves. And that’s where your agency comes in.

3 AI automation agency examples

Here are some examples of AI automation agencies you can gain inspiration from:

1. AI Automation Agency

• Services: AI development, lead gen, CRM automation, sales funnel automation

AI Automation Agency helps businesses build custom AI tools, automate lead gen, and streamline sales and CRM systems. They’re great if you’re looking for a full-service partner that can build everything from chatbots to backend automation. One standout is their ability to create and optimize sales funnels using AI, helping you turn leads into customers without lifting a finger.

2. AI for Work

• Services: Workflow automation consulting

AI for Work is a consultancy that helps businesses streamline operations by designing smart workflows. They don’t just plug in tools, they dive into your processes, figure out what’s slowing you down, and build custom automation setups to make things run smoother. It’s a strong pick if you need a strategic partner to rethink your workflows from the ground up.

3. Clay Experts

• Services: Outbound automation with Clay

Clay is an outreach tool, but they also offer a service arm, Clay Experts, that builds outbound strategies for companies that want to scale cold email without doing the heavy lifting. They handle everything from lead sourcing to message sequencing, and their AI-backed approach makes sure outreach feels personalized without being manual.

Build your AI automation agency with Copilot

One thing I wish someone had told me when I quit my job to build a service business was that creating an agency is hard.

I thought just because I knew a certain skill that businesses were willing to pay for, that building a business around that skill would come naturally. It didn’t.

Starting an agency means:

• Knowing how to find the right clients in your niche
• Knowing how to pitch them with an enticing proposal
• Knowing how to create and send a contract
• Knowing how to invoice clients
• Knowing how to deliver your services on time,
• And knowing how to keep your clients in the loop

This is a lot of things for a single person to handle. And the first thing I did when I started to scale my agency was operationalize how I ran my business. A key component of this was using Copilot to manage my business, onboard my clients, bill them, and interact with them.

Copilot is essentially the ultimate control panel for service businesses. It's tailored to streamline every facet of your AI automation agency’s operations. If you want to see what Copilot is capable of, be sure to play around with the demo client portal and try it out for free!