Comparisons
Hiring Staff vs AI Employee
The real cost of a full-time hire runs $54,000–$84,500 in year one once you count benefits, payroll taxes, and the 3–6 month ramp. The AI workforce handles billing, follow-up, intake, and reputation management for a fraction of that — available around the clock, with no turnover. This comparison covers what each option actually costs and where each one belongs.
Human Employee
The full cost people skip
A $55,000 salary becomes $66,000–$71,500 after CPP, EI, and benefits. Add software, desk, and management overhead and the all-in year-one number is $54,000–$84,500 depending on the role. Then factor turnover: the average service-business employee stays 2–3 years. Replacement typically costs 50–75% of annual salary in recruiting, training, and lost productivity.
None of this makes hiring wrong. It makes the decision worth doing with accurate numbers.
Polemica AI Employee
A fraction of the cost
Polemica's AI employees run on monthly subscriptions — no benefits, no payroll taxes, no sick days, no notice period. Each one is trained on your business and handles a specific class of work: the AI Billing Assistant runs invoice follow-up, the AI Reputation Manager handles reviews, the AI Follow-Up Manager keeps leads warm.
The AI does not replace people who make judgement calls. It replaces the parts of the job that don't require them.
Factor
Human Employee
AI Employee
Annual cost (all-in)
Availability hours
Time to productive
Sick days / turnover
Consistent quality
After-hours coverage
Training required
Scalability
Tasks handled
Oversight needed
Physical presence
Complex judgement calls
Choose to hire if
- The role requires physical presence — on-site, in-vehicle, at a client location
- The work involves complex, unpredictable judgement that changes with every situation
- You need someone who builds long-term client relationships over months and years
- The role crosses many departments and requires a person who can adapt on the fly
Choose AI Employee if
- The role is mostly high-volume, repeatable tasks — follow-up, intake, booking, admin
- You need 24/7 coverage and overtime isn't viable
- Turnover in this role has cost you money or clients more than once
- You need to scale output without scaling headcount at the same rate
- Your staff are spending time on admin instead of the work only they can do
What AI employees handle at Polemica
Each AI employee is a trained specialist for one class of work. You don't get a general-purpose chatbot — you get an employee that knows your business, follows your process, and handles volume without supervision.
AI Front Desk
Answers calls, qualifies leads, books appointments, escalates to staff.
AI Billing Assistant
Follows up on unpaid invoices, sends reminders, logs payment status.
AI Reputation Manager
Sends review requests after job completion, monitors and responds to new reviews.
AI Follow-Up Manager
Keeps cold and warm leads engaged through automated, personalised follow-up sequences.
AI Estimating Assistant
Generates estimates from intake data and sends them for review and approval.
Frequently asked questions
Salary is the starting point, not the total. A $45,000–$65,000 salaried role in Canada adds 20–30% in mandatory costs: payroll taxes, CPP, EI, benefits, and paid leave. Add desk space, software licences, and the productivity loss during the 3–6 month ramp-up period and you're looking at $54,000–$84,500 in year-one cost before you account for any turnover. The average service-business employee stays 2–3 years. When they leave, you restart the clock.
See what the AI handles on day one
Book a 20-minute demo. We'll walk through which tasks your team is doing now that an AI employee can take over — and what that frees your people to do.
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