Start with measured case volume and mean handling time for the eligible workflow. Estimate the coverage an agent can handle, then deduct review, additional exception work and maintenance. Hours released become cash savings only when a staffing, overtime or vendor-spend change actually reduces spending.
Calculate your pilot’s capacity and modeled return
Enter your assumptions, or load the illustrative example. Blank inputs leave results unavailable. Values stay in this page and are not submitted or saved.
Enter all inputs to calculate a result. Use zero only when the value is known to be zero.
- Net capacity released per month (hours)
- Value of positive capacity released
- Realized cash benefit per month
- Running and added-workload cost per month
- Modeled net benefit per month
- Modeled net benefit over the evaluation period
- Modeled ROI over the evaluation period (%)
- Modeled payback (months after launch)
Monetary results use the currency of your inputs. Negative capacity means added human work. Payback assumes these monthly results continue; it may exceed your evaluation period.
How coverage changes the estimate
Only coverage changes below. Review effort, exception effort and all other inputs stay fixed. These percentages are scenarios, not forecasts.
| Coverage | Hours released / month | Modeled net / month |
|---|
The export is a dated snapshot, not a recalculating spreadsheet. Change inputs here and export again to update it.
How do you calculate AI agent ROI?
Calculate modeled AI agent ROI over a stated period as (realized cash benefits minus total modeled costs) divided by total modeled costs, multiplied by 100. Costs include implementation, recurring operating costs and any added human workload valued at the hourly rate. Added workload is an economic cost even when payroll spending does not change. The calculator separately reports the value of released capacity, because time saved only reduces spending when a budget or staffing decision realizes it.
- Net hours released per month = covered cases × (baseline minutes − review minutes − additional exception minutes) ÷ 60 − maintenance hours.
- Cash benefit per month = positive net hours × hourly labor cost × cash realization rate. A negative net-hours result is an added labor cost.
- Payback months = implementation cost ÷ positive monthly modeled net benefit. There is no modeled payback when that monthly benefit is zero or negative.
- A zero-cost scenario has no defined ROI percentage. Treat the inputs as estimates until measured pilot results replace them.
Collect comparable baseline and pilot inputs
Use the same eligible case definition and period for both measurements. Coverage is the share of eligible cases attempted by the agent. Review minutes apply to each covered case; additional exception minutes are the average extra human effort per covered case that review time does not already include.
- Uncovered cases retain their baseline human effort in this model.
- Include human oversight and upkeep in monthly maintenance hours.
- Include software, model usage, hosting and external operating costs in monthly running cost. Do not count maintenance labor twice.
- Implementation cost is a one-time amount including internal and external effort.
- Document each input’s evidence date and whether it is measured or assumed. Use one consistent currency.
Calculate capacity before claiming savings
Covered cases = monthly cases × coverage. Net capacity hours = covered cases × (baseline minutes − review minutes − additional exception minutes) ÷ 60 − maintenance hours. A negative result means the pilot adds human work. Value released capacity at the hourly cost, then apply the cash-realization share only to positive capacity.
- Cash-realization share: the proportion of released capacity supported by an actual spending reduction. Enter zero when no such change is planned.
- Added workload cost = the absolute value of negative capacity hours × hourly cost. For example, negative 10 hours at $50 per hour adds $500 of modeled monthly labor cost. This conservative cost does not assume a matching payroll change.
- Modeled monthly net benefit = realized capacity value − added workload cost − monthly running cost.
- Modeled period net benefit = modeled monthly net benefit × months − implementation cost.
- Modeled ROI (%) = modeled period net benefit ÷ (implementation cost + recurring and added workload costs over the period) × 100. Zero total cost has no defined ROI.
Test the assumptions before expanding the pilot
Run conservative, expected and optimistic coverage estimates, and vary review time and exception work as well. The calculator’s coverage comparison changes only coverage and holds your other inputs fixed. Constant monthly volume and costs are simplifying assumptions; this model excludes ramp-up, discounting, tax and non-labor benefits.
- Set quality and recovery criteria alongside the economic estimate.
- A positive forecast is not approval to deploy or expand.
- Replace assumptions with observed pilot values, preserving the original estimate for comparison.
- Name the budget owner and the specific spending change before describing capacity as cash savings.
Filled example
Illustrative example: 200 cases per month, 30 human minutes per case, 60% coverage and 5 minutes of human review release 50 hours per month before additional exception work or maintenance. At $50 per hour, that capacity is valued at $2,500. If 100% becomes cash savings, $800 of monthly running cost leaves $1,700 and a $5,100 implementation cost pays back in three months. At 0% cash realization, cash impact is negative $800 per month and there is no cash payback. These are modeled assumptions, not measured WIQ customer outcomes.
