AI agents for business: digital helpers that do the work, not just answer
An AI agent is an assistant that can act: it reads a request, looks things up in your systems, decides the next step and does it — creates the order, drafts the reply, updates the CRM. I set up agents for small and medium businesses on the tools you already use, with clear limits and a person approving anything that matters. You pay by the hour, and the first call is free.
Signs an agent would help
- A task needs several steps across different tools, and someone does them by hand every day.
- The steps depend on what the request says, so a simple rule-based automation cannot cover them.
- Your team spends hours looking things up: order statuses, stock, contract terms, client history.
- Requests wait overnight or over the weekend because nobody is there to start on them.
Agent or automation?
An automation follows a fixed path: when an invoice arrives, file it here. An agent chooses its path: it reads a customer's message, works out what they want, checks the order and decides whether to answer, refund or hand over to a person. Agents are more flexible and need more care. Where a fixed path does the job, I use an automation instead — it is cheaper and more predictable.
What agents I set up
- A request agent: reads incoming emails and messages, gathers what is needed from your systems and prepares the next step for a person to approve.
- A research agent: collects information on a lead, a supplier or a market and writes a short brief.
- A back-office agent: checks documents against orders and contracts, and flags what does not match.
- A follow-up agent: keeps track of open deals, overdue payments and unanswered questions, and drafts the reminders.
- An internal helper your team can ask: "where is order 1042?", "what did we agree with this client?"
What I do
Pick one job for the agent
One task with a clear start and finish, and a person who does it today. Agents that try to do everything do nothing well.
Set its tools and limits
What it may read, what it may change, and what always needs a person's approval. Access is the minimum it needs.
Build and test on real cases
On your accounts, with Claude or ChatGPT and workflows in n8n or Make, tested on last month's real requests before it touches new ones.
Run it with a person in the loop
At first a person approves every action. As the agent proves itself, routine actions run on their own and every step is logged.
Hand it over
I document what the agent does and teach the person who owns the task to adjust its instructions and read its log.
What you leave with
- An agent doing one real job in your company, on your accounts.
- Written limits: what it can do alone and what it asks about.
- A log of every action, so mistakes are visible and fixable.
- A person on your team who knows how to adjust it.
Who you work with
Sergiy Yashchenko
AI consultant · 20+ years in IT · Kyiv
I was deputy director of the AI department at a telecommunications company with 3,000+ employees, where AI had to work reliably on real customer traffic.
As a CEO, I put AI to work in my own companies, so I know where agents save time and where they need a firm hand.
An example
Related
Price
$50 per hour — the same rate as everything else I do. The first 30-minute call is free: on it I estimate how many hours your task takes, and you can stop after any hour.
Frequently asked questions
What is an AI agent, in simple terms?
An AI assistant that can take actions in your tools — look things up, create records, draft and send messages — instead of only answering questions in a chat.
Is it safe to let an agent act on its own?
Only within limits you set. It gets the minimum access it needs, actions that matter wait for a person's approval, and every step is logged.
Which tools do you use?
Claude or ChatGPT through their APIs, workflows in n8n or Make, and the CRM, mailbox, spreadsheets and accounting you already have. Everything runs in your company's accounts.
Do we need a developer?
No. I set the agent up and teach someone on your team to adjust it. Your IT keeps control of access to your systems.
What does it cost to run?
The AI and workflow tools charge by use or by plan, in your company's name. I tell you what to expect before we start.
How much does your work cost?
$50 per hour. The first 30-minute call is free, and on it I estimate how much time your agent takes to set up.