The problem with AI sales pitches
When a software company tells you that "AI is going to transform your business," that doesn't help you make a decision. What you need is to know how much money you are going to save, when you recover the investment and how much risk you assume.
Automation with AI has a very measurable ROI, as long as you know which variables to count. In this article we give you the exact formula and show how to apply it with examples from Peruvian companies.
The ROI formula for automation with AI
The basic ROI is calculated like this: (Net profit / Investment cost) × 100. For AI projects, you need to correctly identify what counts as benefit and what counts as cost.
Benefits include: saved labor hours (valued at actual cost), reduction in operational errors, greater attention span, and improvements in conversion. Costs include: development or licensing, integration with existing systems, team training and monthly maintenance.
| Variable | How to calculate it | Real example |
|---|---|---|
| Savings in hours | Hours saved/month × employee cost/hour | 40 hrs × S/ 30 = S/ 1,200/month |
| Error reduction | Errors avoided × average cost per error | 10 errors × S/ 200 = S/ 2,000/month |
| Increase in conversion | Extra customers × average ticket × margin | 5 clients × S/ 3,000 × 30% = S/ 4,500/month |
| Development cost | Initial investment + monthly support | S/ 15,000 + S/ 500/month |
Examples of ROI by industry in Peru
Numbers vary by industry because the value of each hour saved and the volume of processes differ. Here are three representative cases of Peruvian companies that implemented automation with AI.
- Tourism agency (30 employees): automated quotes and follow-up via WhatsApp. Savings: 25 hrs/week. Investment: S/ 12,000. Recovery in 4 months.
- Private clinic (Lima): automated appointment confirmation and frequently asked questions. Reduction in absences: 35%. Recovered income: S/ 8,000/month. ROI in 2 months.
- Distributor (Arequipa): automated purchase order processing. Equivalent to 3 part-time collaborators. Investment: S/ 20,000. ROI in 5 months.
Turn this article into a technical decision
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How to calculate your ROI before investing
Before hiring any solution, do this exercise. First, identify the process you want to automate. Second, measure how many hours per week your team dedicates to it. Third, estimate how many errors occur and how much they cost. Fourth, ask for a proposal with final price and monthly cost.
With this data you can calculate how many months you will recover the investment. If the result is less than 12 months, the project makes financial sense. If it is more, check to see if there is a way to scale the impact or reduce the cost.
The factor that affects ROI the most: internal adoption
The most costly mistake is not choosing the wrong technology. It is implemented correctly and that no one uses it. Automation fails when the team doesn't understand how it works, don't trust it, or haven't received proper training.
At Alaz we include an onboarding phase in all our projects. We don't deliver software: we deliver a new process that works.
If you're still evaluating which processes to automate first, read our practical guide to automation with AI for companies in Peru
