{"type":"rich","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Transistor","provider_url":"https://transistor.fm","author_name":"Agency Action","title":"The Real Cost of Letting AI Run Your Business Systems","html":"","width":"100%","height":180,"duration":1410,"description":"\nThis episode of The WP Minute’s Agency Action podcast gets into a question more WordPress agencies are going to have to answer: What work should humans still be doing?\n\nKurt von Ahnen and Toby Cryns talk about using AI to manage email, improve project workflows, rebuild WordPress sites, and even replace piles of plugins with custom code. Kurt shares how AI helped take an abandoned site from a 56 to a 92 on desktop page speed, while Toby explains why he’s looking at AI as a way to reduce the time spent on complex WooCommerce projects.\nBut the conversation gets more complicated when AI-generated work still needs human judgment. They debate whether agencies should build custom solutions or rely on established products, how much customization clients should expect, and where the line is between efficiency and creating another maintenance headache.\nThen there’s the other problem: AI subscriptions are piling up. Between Claude, ClickUp AI, Figma, Canva, Descript, Perplexity, and a growing list of specialized tools, agencies have to figure out whether the productivity gains actually justify the cost. Kurt and Toby dig into whether agencies are passing those costs on to clients — or simply absorbing them.\nIt’s a very Agency Action conversation about AI, margins, clients, employees, and the uncomfortable question of what happens when the tools get better faster than the business can adapt.\n\nTakeaways\nAI is starting to replace real agency tasks, not just assist with them.\nHuman judgment still matters when AI gets something 80% right.\nAI can make WordPress sites faster by eliminating unnecessary bloat.\nAgencies may start replacing plugin stacks with custom AI-built solutions.\nClients can turn small customizations into endless maintenance work.\nProfessionalism still matters when AI handles more of the actual work.\nAI subscriptions can quietly become a major agency expense.\nAgencies need to figure out whether AI savings are actually improving margins.\nBetter AI may make...","thumbnail_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/kS5vUqkfftJvPma8CT6Sg5RVHfNHiDpJN8Xgd6S0YNc/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:400/h:400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS80NDFj/MDc1MGQ4ZGI0NzY2/ZDA1YzE0YjE3ZjU0/OThmZC5wbmc.webp","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300}