Getting started · 4 min read
How Much Does an AI Assistant Cost in New Zealand?
An honest look at what you pay for a ready-made assistant, a custom build, and the running costs in between.
Prices for AI assistants range from free chatbots to six-figure enterprise projects, which makes it hard to know what is reasonable for a small or medium New Zealand business. Here is how the costs actually break down.
Ready-made assistants: a monthly price
An assistant that does one common job is sold like any other software: a monthly price, usually with a set amount of use included and a small charge beyond that. There is no build cost, and you can cancel any time. With Buildloop, every account also has the AI control centre, NZ$49 a month, which all your assistants share. Each assistant's own price is on our Pricing page.
Custom assistants: a fixed price, then monthly
A custom assistant is built around how your business works, so it has a one-off build price. With Buildloop that is a fixed price agreed in a written proposal before work starts, from NZ$5k, after we have met with you to work out what would be most valuable. The proposal also sets out the monthly cost of running it and any support, so there are no surprises once it is live.
The cost of AI use
Every time an assistant reads a document or writes a reply, it uses AI, and that has a real cost. Good providers show you that usage in plain terms, like chats answered or invoices handled, rather than technical units you cannot check. Ask how usage is counted and what happens if you go over.
Weighing it up
The fair comparison is not the price of the software. It is the hours it gives back. Count the hours a week the job takes you now, and what those hours are worth. Start with the one job that costs you most, and add more once you have seen it work.