How to Get Started With AI Agents: Step by Step Guide

Getting started with AI agents feels overwhelming. Dozens of platforms, hundreds of claims, no clear path. Here is the exact roadmap we use with our clients.

Step 1: Identify Your Highest-Volume Tasks

What eats the most time? Phone calls, email triage, CRM updates, ad management, social media? Pick the top two. A full Executive Assistant like Lane handles all of them, but identifying your pain points helps prioritize.

Step 2: Choose Your Approach

DIY ($20-200/mo): Sign up for a platform, configure it yourself. Best for tech-savvy users with time to tinker.

Managed ($500-3,500/mo): Hire a service that sets up and manages the agent for you. Best for business owners who want results, not a project.

Step 3: Build Your Knowledge Base

Your AI needs to know your business. Feed it your FAQs, pricing, policies, common scenarios, CRM data, and ad preferences. Budget 2-4 hours. Managed services like Lane handle this for you.

Step 4: Train, Test, Launch

Run 20-30 test scenarios. Have friends call and email. Fix what breaks. Go live. Review daily for the first week, weekly thereafter. Lane handles steps 2-4 for you and hands you a working system in 48 hours.