Short answer: for a small or mid-sized business, a reasonable cost structure has three parts — a one-off setup fee (configuration, data preparation, integrations), a monthly platform fee (running and maintaining the system, usually including standard text-AI usage), and AI usage costs (image and video generation and similar expensive items, paid for what you use). On timelines, the first phase of a standard module set can go live in around 10 working days; anything needing custom integrations, data migration or cross-department permissions runs in weeks or months. Any total price quoted before someone has looked at your process isn't worth much.
Why this article doesn't just give you a number
Because two things both called "AI customer service" can differ tenfold in scope. Answering common questions is one job. Identifying what the customer needs, extracting fields, booking appointments, handing off to a human and writing it into a CRM is a different amount of engineering. The honest answer is to explain what drives the cost. Take that structure to a comparison and it will serve you better than a single number.
The three parts of the cost
1. One-off setup fee
Covers the project work for phase one: confirming goals and scope, configuring modules, building the knowledge base and cleaning up data, integrating existing tools, internal testing and handover. The main variables:
- How many modules you turn on (just enquiry handling, or enquiries + CRM + quoting)
- How much data preparation is needed (is your existing data clean, does it need migrating)
- Integrations with existing tools (LINE Official Account, forms, spreadsheets, an existing CRM)
- Permissions and roles (how many kinds of user, what each can see)
- Whether you need a custom interface
2. Monthly platform fee
Running and maintaining the system. The reasonable approach is to include standard text-AI usage in the monthly fee (conversations, copy drafts, reports), with the allowance and fair-use scope written into the plan.
3. AI usage costs
Image and video generation (scene rendering, style simulation, short video) is expensive, so charging by actual usage is the reasonable approach. Before signing, ask the vendor to estimate your usage range based on your process — that step is what prevents surprise bills later.
How to estimate the timeline
Using phase one of PeakQi's standard modules as the example (vendors differ, but the order of magnitude is a useful reference):
| Stage | What happens |
|---|---|
| DAY 0 | Contract signed, materials provided |
| DAY 1–4 | Knowledge base built, AI responses configured, modules set up |
| DAY 5–7 | Internal testing, simulated conversations |
| DAY 7–10 | Calibration meeting, corrections |
| DAY 10 | Go live |
What stretches the timeline: custom integrations (does the other system have an API, is it documented), data migration (volume and messiness), cross-department permissions, unusual approval flows. For a full vertical platform or a large custom system, around six weeks and up is the reference.
Going live isn't the end: the first few weeks need adjustments to responses and flows based on real conversations. That calibration period should be inside the scope of work — confirm it before signing.
What makes it noticeably more expensive
- Legacy systems with no API, where integration has to go the long way round
- Data scattered across several places in different formats, needing a clean-up before migration
- Many departments and roles, where each kind of user sees a different screen
- Unusual approval flows (for example, every reply needing a manager's sign-off)
None of these are impossible. But they should be listed separately on the quote rather than buried in a total.
How to keep the first commitment small
- Start with one stage of the process, not all of it. Fix the part that hurts most (usually enquiry handling), confirm it works, then expand.
- Run a scenario demo first: walk through your own process, confirm it's viable, then sign for adoption.
- Check contract flexibility: for example, three months for phase one, then adjust or stop monthly — that puts a ceiling on the cost of being wrong.
Common questions
Q: Is there a "a few thousand dollars a month" option? Yes — that's the price of subscribing to a single SaaS tool, which suits a single task. Connecting LINE, CRM and quoting into one flow is a different order of magnitude; the money goes into integration and process design rather than the tool itself.
Q: What costs appear beyond the monthly fee? Most commonly, media-type AI usage. Put three things in writing before signing — text usage is included in the monthly fee, how images and video are priced, and how overage is calculated — and there are no surprises.
Q: What should appear on the quote? At minimum: modules enabled, scope of process configuration, data preparation, integration items, permission roles, custom items (listed separately), setup fee, monthly fee, usage pricing, and adjustment and termination terms.
Written by the PeakQi team. The cost structure and timelines here describe PeakQi's own pricing and delivery method — how we actually charge and deliver. Other vendors may differ. No invented market-average prices appear in this article. Published 2026-09-02.