Total Cost of Ownership (AI Agents)

Total cost of ownership (TCO) for an AI agent is the full lifetime cost of running it — subscription, usage, integration, oversight, and rework — not just the sticker price.

Hidden costs such as human review time, failed-outcome rework, and integration maintenance often dominate the headline fee.

Expressing TCO per outcome makes it comparable to the market rate and reveals the true cost of an agent.