for anyone running an AI agency or building AI services in here, theres a shift happening this year that i think most operators are missing
been in conversations with people running $50k-$200k/mo agencies. every single one has stopped using the word automation. theyre all pitching AI employees now. same n8n + claude backend. but they charge 10x because clients compare an employee to a salary, not to zapier.
i tested it myself last week. closed a client at $5k setup + $1.5k/mo when i would have been capped at $500/mo a month ago.
curious if anyone else here has actually tested this shift on real clients. has retention held up after the wow factor?