AI Agents vs. Software Engineers – Cost and Use Cases

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Many LinkedIn posts are floating around about AI agents or AI replacing humans or software engineers. I thought to ask ChatGPT for an answer. The best approach is to combine AI agents for repetitive, routine tasks with software engineers for more innovative and strategic thinking.

Cheat Sheet: Cost Comparison of AI Agent vs Junior Software Engineer for Simple Tasks

Scenario Description

• Tasks: Resolving laptop issues, ticket queries, salary and benefits questions.
• Current Solution: Junior Software Engineer.
• Alternative: AI Agent (chatbot or virtual assistant with integrated task automation).

Who is Cheaper?

1. Short-term (1 year): A junior engineer is generally cheaper due to lower upfront investment and no cloud/computing costs.
2. Long-term (2-3 years): The AI agent becomes more cost-effective, especially if the volume of queries scales. Its ability to operate 24/7 with no additional salary costs creates a competitive edge.

Recommendation

• If task volumes are low and heavily personalized interactions are needed, retain a junior engineer.
• For higher ticket volumes and scalability, invest in an AI agent, which will pay off over time.