Make Money With AI?

Author

Aaron Samuel
April 24, 2025

Hey clever people,

Want companies to pay for your AI agents? Read this.

Learn from an expert who has built 30+ AI agents for real businesses over the last 18 months.

If you’re serious about building agents that sell, start here.

The Hard Truth About AI Agents (From the Trenches)

There’s a ton of noise out there, such as YouTube gurus claiming you’ll make $50k/month with AI agents after buying their $997 course. (You might become broke after the course) 

What’s the reality? Building useful AI agents is both easier and harder than they make it sound.

What Actually Works

Most businesses don’t need fancy, complex systems.

They need reliable automation that solves one specific pain point. 

Examples from the field:

  • Real Estate: An agent that auto-processed property listings and generated 3x better-performing descriptions.

  • Content Company: An agent that scrapes trending topics and drafts outlines, saving 8+ hours per week.

  • SaaS Startup: An agent that handled 70% of customer support tickets without needing a human.

None of these were complex. They just worked and delivered real ROI. (Nothing fancy, just AI that solves REAL problems) 

The Uncomfortable Truth Nobody Tells You (But We Will) 

  • Building the agent is only 30% of the work.
    Deployment, maintenance, and API updates will consume most of your time. (It's like travelling- you will travel for a few hours but the jetlag will eat your body)

  • Businesses don’t care about "AI." They care about ROI.
    You'll lose the deal if you can't show how you save or make money. (No AI can replace money.)

  • The tech is getting easier.
    However, finding the right business problems to solve is getting harder.

  • Amazing tech doesn’t mean automatic success.
    Companies will reject "cool" solutions that don’t fix real problems.

Meanwhile, simple agents targeting key workflows can generate $10k+/month in value. (It’s all about real-life solutions, not aesthetics)

How To Actually Get Started (If You’re Serious)

  • Solve your own problems first.
    Build 3–5 agents for your own workflow.
    This forces you to create something truly useful.

  • Build free agents for 3 local businesses.
    Don't pitch “AI.”
    Find one painful problem and solve it clearly.
    (Pro tip: Testimonials are greater than theory.)

  • Focus on outcomes, not technology.
    “Saved us 15 hours weekly” > “Uses GPT-4 with vector retrieval”

  • Document everything.
    Wins and losses. Your pattern recognition will become your edge over time.

Final Takeaway

"The demand for custom AI agents is exploding, but most of what's being built is flashy garbage." (It’s like a buddle of weed growing on the farm) 

Real money is being made by people who:

  • Solve real pain points

  • Deliver consistent ROI

  • Keep it simple, useful, and maintainable

If you’re building AI agents,  build for impact, not impressiveness. 

More cool & educational insights are coming soon,
— Written by Aaron & The Clever Nest Team

If you love breakdowns, forward it to someone who would prefer to read and learn AI agents rather than scrolling through the web.