How to Start an AI Automation Agency From Zero

TL;DR

Helping small and medium businesses understand and implement AI tools like ChatGPT requires no product, no coding skills, and no AI degree. Kevin O'Leary and Mark Cuban both name it the first business they would start today, because businesses with 5 to 500 employees create 62% of US jobs and want AI but cannot implement it. The three service layers are education, consulting, and building AI systems.

Transcript

by far the easiest business to start right now needs no products no fancy marketing and no coding skills it's not drop shipping it's not social media marketing and it's not crypto either it's helping normal businesses to understand and use AI tools like CHBT and this is exactly why billionaires like Kevin Oly and Mark Cuban say that it's the first ... Read More

Key Insights

• The AI automation agency is an online business model where you work with businesses on a contract or retainer basis to help them apply AI technologies to automate their systems and processes. The creator and his team coined the term in May 2023, before mainstream attention arrived.
• Small to medium-sized businesses are the target market because, as Kevin O'Leary notes, the majority of American businesses have between 5 and 500 employees, they create 62% of the jobs, they want to use AI, and they will pay someone to help them solve for that.
• Businesses need three distinct layers of AI service: education about what AI is and what it can and cannot do, consulting on which AI systems will produce ROI, and implementation that builds systems to reduce costs and increase sales. You can start with whichever layer suits your background.
• Kevin O'Leary specifically frames the opportunity as implementation and execution rather than consulting, describing it as helping a business make the transfer into a world where it controls its own data and extracts information from it. He calls the work complicated but very lucrative.
• Mark Cuban's advice centers on three durable skills that do not change across decades: curiosity, agility, and the ability to adapt. He openly admits he cannot predict where AI is going or its exact impact on the job market, but says he will keep paying attention.
• No AI expertise is required because ChatGPT's launch at the end of 2022 blindsided everyone equally, including AI academics, business leaders, and tech giants like Google. This new wave of AI is so different from what came before that the playing field is genuinely even.
• The people capturing this demand are mostly not AI academics and not even developers. They are regular people who spotted the opportunity and took action, which is why real AI expertise for businesses is forged in the market by results rather than created in classrooms.
• The creator's own results came from starting two years ago with no AI experience, no degree, and only curiosity. He now runs a multi-million dollar business with over 40 people out of an Auckland office in New Zealand, plus a 160,000-member AI business community.

Questions & Answers

Q: What is an AI automation agency?

An AI automation agency, or AAA for short, is an online business model focused on helping small to medium-sized businesses automate their systems and processes with AI technology. You work with those businesses either on a contract or retainer basis to help them apply AI technologies. The creator and his team coined the term in May of 2023 to describe the new business model they had discovered. The agency covers up to three layers of service: educating businesses about what AI is and what it can and cannot do, consulting on which AI systems to implement for ROI, and actually building AI systems that reduce costs and increase sales.

Q: Why do Kevin O'Leary and Mark Cuban recommend starting an AI business?

Kevin O'Leary says that if he were 25 years old today, he would get involved in AI because AI growth is going to be exponential, and in its simplest form the opportunity is helping people use the technology. He points out that a massive number of people want to use AI, do not know how, and are willing to pay to solve that pain point. Mark Cuban says that if he were a 16-year-old kid who needed a side hustle, he would go all in on large language models like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Meta's models, learn how to prompt, teach his friends, and then go to businesses, because small to medium-sized businesses do not understand AI yet.

Q: Do you need to be an AI expert or developer to start an AI agency?

No. The belief that you need to be an AI expert with a degree or other qualifications is precisely why the opportunity remains untapped. When ChatGPT launched at the end of 2022, it blindsided everyone equally, including AI academics, business leaders, and tech giants like Google. This wave of AI is so different from what came before that everyone is essentially starting from ground zero, making it an even playing field. The people already bridging the gap are mostly not AI academics and not even developers. They are regular people who saw the opportunity and took action, and their expertise is forged by real results rather than by classroom credentials.

Q: Which businesses should an AI agency target as clients?

Small to medium-sized businesses are the target. Kevin O'Leary explains that the majority of businesses in America have between 5 and 500 employees, meaning they are small businesses, and that they create 62% of the jobs. These businesses want to use AI but do not yet understand it, so they will pay someone who can help them solve for that. Mark Cuban gives the same guidance, saying that small to medium-sized businesses do not understand AI yet and that he would teach them even as a 16-year-old. The gap between how badly these businesses need AI to stay competitive and their actual ability to implement it is what creates the demand.

Q: What are the three service layers an AI agency can offer?

First is education, which means explaining AI to businesses in simple terms, covering what the technology is and what it can and cannot do. Second is consulting, which means showing them how and where to use AI and advising on the best kinds of AI systems to implement so the business gets some kind of ROI. Third is implementation, which means actually building AI systems for them in order to reduce their costs and increase their sales. You do not have to offer all three. You can start wherever suits you best depending on your background, and the video says a beginner could take information from a video about AI agents and turn it into a presentation.

Q: How is the 6-hour AI agency masterclass structured?

The video is organized into three chapters assembled from the creator's best YouTube content in the order a beginner needs it. Chapter one explores the AI business landscape, showing how big the opportunity is, the types of AI businesses you can start, and how to overcome doubts about whether you can do this. Chapter two focuses on actually starting the business: where to begin, how to build AI skills quickly, how to choose and pick a profitable niche, how to get your first client, and how to price your services. Chapter three covers scaling, including how the creator went from 10K per month to $100,000 per month and beyond, and the mistakes to avoid.

Q: What results has the creator achieved with this AI business model?

Two years before filming, the creator was where many viewers are now: no AI experience, no degree, curious about AI, and wanting a better life. Since then he has built multiple AI businesses on track to generate $10 million in revenue this year. He runs a multi-million dollar business with over 40 people based out of an Auckland office in New Zealand, and separately built the biggest AI YouTube channel and the biggest AI business community in the world with over 160,000 members. It all started by helping regular businesses use simple AI tools like ChatGPT, and thousands of beginners in his community have used the same blueprint.

Q: What topics does the masterclass cover for getting your first client and pricing?

According to the timestamps, the masterclass includes a segment on 23 ways to get your first client, and another on generating unlimited leads with content. It then covers how to price your services, provides a contract template, and explains how to scope a project. Other listed segments include the five myths holding you back, the top five AI businesses for beginners, which model is best for you, the simplest AI automation offer, five specialization routes for beginners, the five stages of scaling an AI business, niched versus general positioning, finding your unfair advantage, the tech adoption life cycle, hiring your first developer, and the new AAA model.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• The easiest business to start right now is helping normal businesses understand and use AI tools like ChatGPT. It needs no products, no fancy marketing, and no coding skills. The creator started two years ago with no AI experience and no degree, and has since built multiple AI businesses on track to generate $10 million in revenue this year.

• Kevin O'Leary says that if he were 25 today he would go into AI, specifically implementation and execution rather than consulting, because small businesses between 5 and 500 employees create 62% of American jobs, want to use AI, and will pay to solve that pain point. Mark Cuban says that as a 16-year-old he would go all in on large language models and teach businesses to use them.

• The AI automation agency model, a term the creator and his team coined in May 2023, means working with businesses on a contract or retainer basis to apply AI technologies. Businesses are starving for three layers of service: education about what AI can and cannot do, consulting on which systems will deliver ROI, and building the systems that cut costs and raise sales.

• The excuse that you need to be an AI expert is why the opportunity is still untapped. ChatGPT's late-2022 launch blindsided academics, business leaders, and tech giants like Google equally, so everyone starts from ground zero. The real experts are forged by helping businesses adopt the technology, in a place judged by results rather than qualifications.

• The 6-hour masterclass is organized into three chapters: exploring the AI business landscape and overcoming doubts, actually starting the business through skills, niches, first clients, and pricing, and scaling from 10K per month to $100,000 per month and beyond while avoiding the mistakes that trip most people up.