Project guide

AI-driven agency services

All 5 cases are self-reported and charge service fees, and 4 win work through referrals; most let AI do the bulk while people finish the work and handle clients

Compiled from the 5 cases in our AI-driven agency services project, all grade B. Mind the sources: AEO Engine's figure comes from a paid press release, Wang Zhongyang is also recruiting for a paid AI job-coaching programme, and Aryan Mahajan's 100,000 dollars a month is a total across several companies, with the gated body of the article unread.

Compiled 2026-10-23

Key facts

5Cases graded A or B

0Grade C leads

Income ranges use cases graded A or B (grade B is the founder's own account, with no platform data to check it), in USD; grade C leads are listed but not counted

See the steps

How the cases did it, step by step

Each step names the cases it comes from. Public sources give no reliable time data, so there are no weeks or hours.

Step 1 Start with gigs or referralsAryan Mahajan started with AI chatbots and Upwork gigs; Wang Zhongyang's first client came through a friend in a traditional business; AI Podcasting did the work by hand first and automated later.Cases: Aryan Mahajan · Wang Zhongyang · AI Podcasting
Step 2 Package the serviceAryan Mahajan productised his services so delivery was predictable; AI Podcasting bundles everything after recording into a monthly package; AEO Engine sells a managed service.Cases: Aryan Mahajan · AI Podcasting · AEO Engine
Step 3 AI does the bulk, people do the finish and the relationshipAI Podcasting says about 80% of the work is AI and 20% human polish; AEO Engine runs 50+ agents and leaves outreach to people; Chat Agency AI has a person review and start every step; Wang Zhongyang uses a script to decide whether a person or AI owns each task.Cases: AI Podcasting · AEO Engine · Chat Agency AI · Wang Zhongyang
Step 4 Price the result, not the person-monthsFor the same enterprise AI support system, others quoted 250,000 yuan for four people over two months; Wang Zhongyang quoted 120,000 with 20,000–30,000 in cash costs. AI Podcasting charges independent podcasters from 3,000 dollars a month.Cases: Wang Zhongyang · AI Podcasting
Step 5 Grow through referrals and repeat workFour of the five list referrals as their main channel; Wang Zhongyang's clients came back for maintenance and a second use case; AI Podcasting moved from independent podcasters to brands and podcast networks.Cases: Wang Zhongyang · Chat Agency AI · AEO Engine · AI Podcasting

At a glance

Ranges are the 25th–75th percentile of cases graded A or B, computed by script from the case data; both ends of a ranged figure are counted

Cases graded A or B: 5
Monthly income (annual figures divided by 12): $13,375 – $68,750

Skills involved

How many of the 5 cases graded A or B list each skill

Support & delivery3 of 5 cases

These businesses sell delivery: AI Podcasting turns around full post-production in 1–3 days; Wang Zhongyang's clients came back for maintenance and a second use case.

AI-assisted coding3 of 5 cases

Wang Zhongyang has 'AI staff' write specs, generate code and run tests, with a script deciding whether a person or AI owns each task; Aryan Mahajan started out building AI chatbots.

SEO1 of 5 cases

AEO Engine gets brands cited by ChatGPT and AI overviews: 50+ agents handle entity optimisation, structured data and citation tracking while people do outreach.

Video editing1 of 5 cases

AI Podcasting's post-production covers editing, audio cleanup, clips, show notes, thumbnails, distribution and sponsor operations.

Mobile app development1 of 5 cases

Chat Agency AI builds AI tools around a client team's own process, with a person reviewing and starting each step.

Key points

How big the income is

All five are self-reported: Aryan Mahajan says his companies together make 100,000 dollars a month; AEO Engine's press release claims 700,000 dollars a year after six months; AI Podcasting makes 14,500 dollars a month; Chat Agency AI about 10,000 a month; Wang Zhongyang says three enterprise projects brought in just over 500,000 yuan in three months.

No figure is checked against platform data
Discount figures from paid press releases and course sellers
Service income tracks headcount and does not scale endlessly

How they price

AI Podcasting charges independent podcasters from 3,000 dollars a month; Wang Zhongyang quotes about half the conventional price and claims a margin above 75%; Chat Agency AI sells a platform plus bespoke builds; AEO Engine charges for a managed service.

Price the delivered result, not person-months
High prices mean few clients, so losing one hurts
Maintenance and follow-on work are a second income

Dependencies and risks

The human steps cap how many clients you can take (AI Podcasting); AI search rules change fast, so today's tactics may fail tomorrow, and seeding Reddit and Quora can break platform rules (AEO Engine); cheap outsourcing built on AI-generated code may underestimate maintenance (Wang Zhongyang).

Headcount is the ceiling
When the rules change, the tactics stop working
AI-written code still needs maintaining

Cases graded A or B

See them all in the case library →

BSelf-reportedAI Podcasting: an ex-Paramount product lead's '80% AI, 20% human' podcast post-production service at 3,000 dollars a month, 14,500 dollars MRR$14,500 MRR · monthly
BSelf-reportedAryan Mahajan: from AI chatbots and Upwork gigs to a Dubai AI services company (including Zoro) he says makes 100,000 dollars a month$100,000 revenue · monthly
BSelf-reportedChat Agency AI: a former Cisco design executive's New York AI platform-plus-bespoke-builds business, about 10,000 dollars a month after its first weeks$10,000 revenue · monthly
BSelf-reportedWang Zhongyang: a Hangzhou tech director's AI customer-service outsourcing, quoting 120,000 yuan at a claimed 75%+ margin, three deals for just over 500,000≥ ¥500,000 revenue · to date
BSelf-reportedAEO Engine: getting brands cited by ChatGPT and AI Overviews, 700,000 dollars ARR in six months$700,000 revenue · annual

Tools

Tools and platforms the cases mention. Every link goes to the official site, and we earn nothing from them.

Tool	Used for	Link
Upwork	Where Aryan Mahajan picked up his first gigs	Official site ↗
ChatGPT	One of the AI answer engines where AEO Engine wants its clients cited	Official site ↗

Platform rules and compliance

Content and marketing done for clients must follow each platform's rules: seeding Reddit and Quora with accounts can break them, a risk noted in AEO Engine's case.
Clients' support logs, audio and internal files call for confidentiality and data-processing agreements, and clients should know which AI services you use.
When you deliver AI-generated code or content, the contract should cover maintenance, liability and who owns the work.
When you advertise revenue, give the source and the basis; a paid press release is not third-party verification.

Compare

Compare: AI agent platforms (sold as products)

FAQ

How much can an AI agency make?

All five of our cases are self-reported: from about 10,000 dollars a month (Chat Agency AI) to 100,000 a month across several companies (Aryan Mahajan); Wang Zhongyang says three projects brought in just over 500,000 yuan in three months.

Where does the first client come from?

Wang Zhongyang's first client was introduced by a friend in a traditional business; Aryan Mahajan started with Upwork gigs; four of the five list referrals as their main channel.

How much of the work can AI do?

AI Podcasting says about 80% is AI and 20% human polish; Chat Agency AI requires a person to review and start every step.

How should I price?

By the delivered result, not person-months: Wang Zhongyang quoted 120,000 yuan, about half the conventional price; AI Podcasting charges independent podcasters from 3,000 dollars a month.

Can these figures be trusted?

They are all self-reported, and some sources have a sales motive: AEO Engine's figure comes from a paid press release, and Wang Zhongyang is recruiting for a paid AI job-coaching programme.

Want more examples like these?

See them all in the case library →