Everything you wanted to ask about AI.

An AI agency designs, builds and maintains artificial-intelligence systems for businesses: AI agents that complete tasks, workflow automation that connects software, chat and voice assistants, custom AI-powered applications, and the strategy and training to use them well. _1 is an AI agency based in New York City.

At _1, AI strategy engagements start at $1,500, workflow automations at $2,500, AI voice and chat agents at $3,500, custom AI agents at $6,500, custom CRMs at $8,000 and custom SaaS applications at $12,000. Ongoing care plans start at $750 per month. Every project is fixed-scope and quoted before work begins.

Simple automations go live in 1–2 weeks. Most AI agents take 2–6 weeks. Custom applications and CRMs typically take 3–10 weeks. You see working software every week during the build.

_1 is based in New York City and focuses on businesses across the five boroughs and New York State — including Long Island, Westchester, the Hudson Valley, Albany, Buffalo, Rochester and Syracuse — but we also work remotely with clients across the United States.

We are model-agnostic and choose per project: Anthropic Claude, OpenAI GPT models, Google Gemini and open-source models, orchestrated with tools like LangGraph, n8n, Make and the Model Context Protocol (MCP). Apps are built with Next.js, TypeScript and Postgres/Supabase.

Yes, when implemented properly. _1 uses business-tier APIs that do not train on your data, encrypts credentials, applies least-privilege permissions, adds human approval for sensitive actions and logs everything an agent does. For healthcare we use HIPAA-eligible infrastructure with a BAA.

No. Everything is documented and handed over with training, and _1 offers monthly care plans covering monitoring, updates and improvements. You own all code and accounts outright.

A chatbot answers questions. An AI agent takes actions: it can look up a record, update your CRM, send a calendar invite, draft an email or trigger a workflow. Agents work across several steps and several tools to finish a task, not just reply to a message.

Most single-purpose agents _1 builds start around $6,500 and are delivered in 2–6 weeks. Multi-agent systems with several integrations typically range from $15,000 to $40,000+. Ongoing model and hosting costs are usually $50–$500 per month depending on volume.

Yes, when it is built correctly. _1 uses business-tier model APIs that do not train on your data, keeps credentials in encrypted secret stores, applies least-privilege access to every tool and logs every action the agent takes.

In practice agents remove the repetitive parts of a role — data entry, first responses, scheduling — so your people spend time on clients and judgment calls. Most clients redeploy hours rather than cut headcount.

Zapier is easiest for simple, low-volume tasks. Make is better value for visual multi-step scenarios. n8n is best for complex, high-volume or privacy-sensitive workflows because it can be self-hosted. _1 picks the platform per project based on volume, cost and data requirements.

Most automation projects _1 scopes are designed to pay back within 3–6 months through hours saved and faster response times. We estimate ROI during the audit before you commit to a build.

Often, yes — using browser automation, email parsing, or by migrating that step into a tool that does have an API. We will tell you during the audit if something is not reliably automatable.

Vibe coding is building software by directing AI coding tools in natural language. On its own it can produce fragile code. _1 pairs AI-accelerated development with senior engineering review, automated tests, security checks and proper architecture, so you get the speed without the risk.

Yes. You own 100% of the source code, data and intellectual property. Everything lives in your GitHub organization and your cloud accounts.

_1’s custom apps typically start around $12,000 for a focused MVP or internal tool and range to $60,000+ for multi-role SaaS platforms with payments and AI features. Traditional NYC dev shops often quote 2–4x that for the same scope.

If your process fits a standard sales pipeline, configuring and automating HubSpot or Salesforce is usually faster and cheaper. A custom CRM makes sense when your workflow is unusual, you are paying for many seats you barely use, or you need deep integration with your own product.

Yes. _1 cleans, de-duplicates and migrates contacts, companies, deals and history from spreadsheets or any CRM with an export or API.

Modern voice agents use low-latency speech models that sound natural, handle interruptions and respond in under a second. Most callers simply experience a helpful receptionist. _1 always discloses that the caller is speaking with an AI assistant.

Yes. _1 builds multilingual agents that detect the caller’s language and respond in English, Spanish, Mandarin, Cantonese, Russian, Korean and many other languages common in New York.

SEO optimizes for ranked links in search results. GEO optimizes for being quoted, cited and recommended inside AI-generated answers. They overlap — crawlability, authority and structured data matter for both — but GEO puts extra weight on clear, factual, answer-first content and consistent entity information across the web.

_1 tracks a fixed set of buyer-intent prompts across AI engines every month and measures how often, and how prominently, your brand is mentioned or cited compared to competitors.

Start where you have high volume and repetition: answering inquiries, scheduling, data entry and reporting. These usually deliver a measurable return within weeks. _1’s audit ranks your opportunities so you start with the one that pays back fastest.

Yes. _1 runs on-site workshops anywhere in the five boroughs, Long Island, Westchester and across New York State, as well as remote sessions.