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Before You Hire an AI Developer, Answer These Six Questions
I'm an AI developer, so this is an odd thing to write. Don't hire one yet, including me, until you've answered the questions below. Most AI projects that disappoint were set up to disappoint before anyone wrote code, and you can spot the signs in an afternoon.
1. What happens today, step by step?
Write down how the work runs now, with the tools and the people involved. If you can't describe the current process, a developer will automate their guess of it.
2. Where does the data live, and can anything reach it?
AI can only use what it can read. If your prices are in one person's head, your customer list in a phone and your stock in a notebook, the first job is getting that into a system. That's cheaper to hear now than after an agent has been built on nothing.
3. What may the AI do without asking?
Reading and drafting are low risk. Sending emails, issuing refunds, changing records and spending money need limits and a person's approval. Decide where that line sits before the developer does.
4. Who checks its work?
Someone has to read the output for the first few weeks and say when it's wrong. If nobody has time for that, the project will drift and quietly die.
5. What number will tell you it worked?
Hours saved, replies sent within five minutes, invoices processed, leads booked. Measure it now so you have something to compare against.
6. Who owns it when the developer leaves?
The code, the accounts, the API keys and the workflows should all be in your name. Ask any developer, before you pay, where each of those will live.
Red flags that should make you walk away
- They promise it will replace a whole role in a month.
- They won't say which AI provider or tools they use, or they insist everything runs on their own accounts.
- They can't tell you the monthly running cost before you start.
- They skip your questions and go straight to a quote.
If you've answered all six
You're ahead of most buyers, and the build will be faster and cheaper for it. Bring your answers to a free call and I'll tell you what I'd build, what it would cost to run each month and what I wouldn't automate at all. If you got stuck on two or more, a Fractional CTO Session at $150 gets you a written plan with the answers, whoever ends up building it.
How I work
Code goes to your repository and services run on accounts in your name. I estimate third-party usage costs before we start. Any AI action that changes something outside the system gets an approval step until you decide it doesn't need one. My AI work includes a private outreach agent for a travel company, custom MCP servers that give Claude controlled access to business tools (see Give Claude the Keys, Safely), and n8n workflows from $150. Every fixed-price service is listed on the proposals page.
Questions, answered
What should I ask before hiring an AI developer?
Ask how they'll learn your current process, where the code and accounts will live, which AI providers they use, what it will cost to run each month and who checks the AI's output. A good developer asks you questions before quoting.
How much does an AI agent cost to build?
Fixed-price AI agents usually start between $150 and $450 for one workflow or channel, with larger multi-workflow builds from about $1,000. Monthly model and platform usage is billed separately and should be estimated before you start.
Do I own the AI system after it's built?
You should. Insist that the code sits in your repository and that every service, from the AI provider to hosting, runs on accounts in your name.
Ready-made packages 
Fixed-price gigs that build what this proposal describes.
