Blog · 5 min read
How to calculate AI automation ROI honestly
Vendors will tell you AI saves 40 hours a week. Sometimes true. Often not. Here's how to do the math on your own business so you don't get sold a fantasy.
The inputs that actually matter
Current lead volume per month. Be honest, most owners overestimate by 20%.
Current response time. Time-stamp your last 20 leads. The number will surprise you.
Current booking rate. Booked appointments ÷ inbound leads.
Average job value. Total revenue ÷ booked jobs.
The conservative formula
Expected lift in booking rate: 20% (conservative; many businesses see 40%+).
Recovered jobs/month = current monthly leads × 0.20.
Recovered revenue/month = recovered jobs × avg job value × 0.7 (close rate on warm leads).
Annual gain = monthly × 12.
Subtract the automation cost. That's your honest ROI.
Sanity checks
If your booking rate is already >70%, your ROI will be smaller (less room to grow).
If you only get 10 leads/month, focus on getting more leads first, automation amplifies volume, it doesn't create it.
If your average job value is <$50, the math gets thinner. Still worth it for time saved, but the pure-revenue case is weaker.
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