Every way to get AI automation done, compared.

Build it yourself, hire someone, bring in an agency, or have it built and supervised for you. Here's who does the work in each, and what it takes to start.

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Four ways, side by side.

QuestionDo it yourselfon a platformHire someonefull timeAn agencyor a freelancerlilAgentsbuilt and supervised

Who builds itYouYour new hireThey doWe do

Who checks the work after launchYouYour hireAsk themA person on our team

Your team learns how it worksBy trial and errorOnly the hireAsk themYes, we teach them

Runs in accounts you ownYesYesAsk themYes

What it takes to startA free tier, then a subscriptionAbout $106,000 a year or more, plus recruitingA project feeMonth one; cancel within 14 days and pay nothing

Hiring figures and what each platform costs: hire or bring in a team?

The platforms, and us.

From each vendor's own pages, checked October 28, 2026.

Lindy

An AI assistant you set up yourself, built around Slack.

From $29.99 a month per user
Asks first: In shared Slack threads
You set it up

Pricing · Approvals · lilAgents or Lindy?

Zapier

The automation platform, with AI steps and agents you build into your Zaps.

From $19.99 a month, billed yearly
Asks first: If you switch it on
You set it up

Pricing · Approvals · lilAgents or Zapier?

n8n

A workflow automation platform for technical teams, in its cloud or on your own server.

From $20 a month, billed yearly
Asks first: Yes, on every plan
You set it up

Pricing · Approvals · lilAgents or n8n?

Make

A visual automation platform where you build AI agents and automations.

From $12 a month, billed yearly
Asks first: Enterprise beta
You set it up

Pricing · Approvals · lilAgents or Make?

Marblism

Seven ready-made AI employees for your inbox, social media, SEO, calls, leads, legal drafts, and website.

From $24 a month, billed yearly
Asks first: Depends on the employee
You set it up

Pricing · Approvals · lilAgents or Marblism?

lilAgents

A team that sets up AI agents in your accounts and supervises them.

Month one; cancel within 14 days, pay nothing
Asks first: always
We set it up and teach your team

How pricing works · How approvals work

We don't just build it. We help your team adopt it.

We're consultants, not just builders. The goal is a team that knows how its own automations work.

1We build it with youIn your accounts, on the tools you already use, around how your team actually works.
2We check the workA person on our team watches what the agents do, and fixes what breaks.
3We teach your teamRegular check-ins and a written handover, in plain words, so you understand what you own.

Looking for someone to build it?

These directories list people who build automations. Whoever you pick, ask who watches it after launch, and whether it runs in your own accounts.

Questions.

Do I need to hire someone to automate work with AI?

No. Platforms like Lindy, Marblism, Zapier, n8n, and Make are self-serve, and a service like lilAgents builds and supervises it for you. Hiring makes sense once you have a long list of automation work and someone to manage the hire.

Which AI automation tools let a person approve actions first?

n8n (human-in-the-loop for tools, on every plan), Zapier (a "Require approval before running" setting on each AI tool, off by default), and Lindy ("Require approval" on an integration, in shared Slack threads) all can. Marblism's depends on the employee, and Make's Human in the Loop app is on its Enterprise plan and in closed beta. Checked October 28, 2026.

What does lilAgents do differently?

We do the building and the watching, and we teach your team along the way. The agents run in accounts you own, anything with outside impact waits for a person, a person on our team checks the work, and if you leave, it keeps running without us.

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Find out what you could stop doing.

We take the repetitive work that eats your week and automate as much of it as we can, so you can spend your time on meaningful work that moves the business forward.

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See what we automate

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