Agents, apps and services,
by what you need.
If you posted a job and want it done, Allying does it: the job on your posting, in your own channels, with a named person who answers for it and the first week done before any conversation. Four other kinds sell today, and each leaves more of the work with you: agents you run yourself (Muse for Small Business, OpenAI's dots, Grok Bot), apps of AI helpers you direct (Sintra, Marblism, Lindy), an AI employee set up or resold for one job (James AI, Vendasta), and phone answering with AI and people (Smith.ai, Abby Connect).
How this page is written
Allying publishes this page and is one of the options on it. Every price and term below comes from each company's own pages, read on 2026-09-29 and listed in the sources, so you can check it. Where a company publishes no price for a business, we say so rather than guess.
What people mean by an AI employee
OpenAI, Meta and SpaceXAI call theirs agents or teammates: OpenAI's dots are agents with their own cloud computer [3], Meta calls Muse a personal AI agent [1], and SpaceXAI calls its Bots AI teammates [7]. Sintra, Marblism, James AI and Vendasta say AI employees: Sintra built "AI employees for real business roles" [10], Marblism sells an AI team for your inbox, socials, SEO, calls and support [13], James AI offers "an AI employee for anything" [15], and Vendasta sells AI Employees through its partners [16]. Under the label, two questions sort them: who runs the work, and who answers for it.
The options, by what you need
The job you posted, done: Allying
Allying does the job a business has already posted, as an employee or contractor, with a monthly minimum for each job: $1,500 a month on a $60,000 posting (30% of the posted salary, after a free week). You do not set anything up to see it: the first week of the work is done for your own business before any conversation. If you go ahead, you book a short call and add a card, and nothing is charged. Your free week starts with the call, and the first charge comes on day 8.
A named specialist answers for the work, every action is on the record, with a daily note and a weekly report, and one note stops it. The work happens in your own channels: Slack, Teams, text, WhatsApp or email, with its own phone number. Nothing reaches a customer without your yes until you say it no longer needs asking.
An agent you run yourself: Muse for Small Business, OpenAI's dots or Grok Bot
Muse for Small Business is Meta's personal agent with skills and connectors for running a business: it connects your Instagram professional account analytics, Facebook Pages and Meta ad accounts, and tools such as QuickBooks, Shopify and Stripe [1]. It is free with a usage limit, or $20 or $100 a month for more [2], in the US and Canada [1].
OpenAI's dots have their own cloud computer and connect to over 4,000 apps; you give a dot a goal and decide what it may do on its own [3] [4]. Your first dot comes with ChatGPT Pro, from $100 a month, or a Business Premium seat at $125 a user a month [5] [6].
Grok Bot gives you named Bots on a cloud computer that work in your tools [7], with paid Cursor plans from $20 a month or a SuperGrok subscription [9] [8].
All three wait for you: Muse waits for your approval before anything goes out [1], OpenAI asks you to review a dot's consequential work [3], and a Bot comes back when something needs your approval [7]. Each has its own comparison: Allying vs Muse for Small Business, Allying vs OpenAI's dots and Allying vs Grok Bot.
An app of AI helpers you direct: Sintra, Marblism or Lindy
Sintra gives you twelve named helpers, from a social media manager to a customer support specialist and an SEO specialist [10], for $48.50 a month on its one-month plan (on sale from $97) or $15.60 a month on its 12-month plan, with 250 credits a month and a 14-day money-back guarantee [11].
Marblism gives you seven AI employees, from an executive assistant and a social media manager to a receptionist with a phone number in the US, Canada or the UK, from $24 a month on the yearly option with 50 hours of work [12]; they check in when they need your input or approval [13].
Lindy is an AI teammate in Slack, from $29.99 a month per user by credits, and anything with outside impact waits for your approval [14]. It has its own comparison: Allying vs Lindy.
An AI employee set up or resold for one job: James AI or Vendasta
James AI is built and priced one job at a time: you describe the job, an engineer on their team builds it for your business in one to two weeks, and it costs from $500 a month for each job after seven free days, priced on the call [15]. You text James on iMessage, a help form reaches their team, and if anyone asks, James says it is an AI [15].
Vendasta sells AI Employees for local businesses, among them an AI Receptionist, an AI Reputation Specialist, an AI Social Media Manager and an AI Blogger, through more than 66,000 partners who resell the platform under their own brand [16]. Since September 22, 2026, a business a partner invites gets a starter website, a trained AI receptionist and a visibility audit before it pays, and partners set their own retail prices [17]. Vendasta's pricing page prices the platform for partners, from a $99 monthly minimum, and lists no price for the business [18].
Phone answering with AI and people: Smith.ai or Abby Connect
If the job is the phone, answering services are built for it. Smith.ai offers AI-first plans, free for 25 calls a month or $150 a month for 75 calls [19], and human-first receptionist plans from $300 a month for 30 calls, month to month [20].
Abby Connect lets you choose people, AI or both for each call, from $165 a month for 50 minutes, with double the minutes when you choose AI, month to month [21].
The prices side by side
| Option | What you get | Price on their page | Who runs the work | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Allying | The job you posted, done, with a named specialist | 30% of the salary in your posting, a month, with a monthly minimum for each job | Allying, with a named person who answers for it | Pricing |
| Muse for Small Business | An agent on your Meta and business accounts | Free with a usage limit; $20 or $100 a month for more | You; it waits for your approval | [2] |
| OpenAI's dots | An agent with its own cloud computer | Included in ChatGPT Pro, $100 to $500 a month, or a Business Premium seat, $125 a user a month | You; you set its goals and rules | [5] [6] |
| Grok Bot | Named Bots on a cloud computer | Included with paid Cursor plans from $20 a month, or a linked SuperGrok subscription | You; you brief it and approve what matters | [9] [8] |
| Sintra | Twelve AI helpers | $48.50 a month on the one-month plan, on sale; $15.60 a month on the 12-month plan | You direct each helper | [11] |
| Marblism | Seven AI employees, a receptionist among them | From $24 a month on the yearly option | You; they check in for your input or approval | [12] |
| Lindy | An AI teammate in Slack | From $29.99 a month per user | Your team; outside actions wait for approval | [14] |
| James AI | One AI employee per job, built by their engineers | From $500 a month for each job, after seven free days | James, built by their engineers, with a help form to their team | [15] |
| Vendasta | AI Employees sold through Vendasta's partners | Set by the partner that sells it; partner plans from a $99 monthly minimum | Not stated on the pages we read | [17] [18] |
| Smith.ai | Phone answering by AI or by people | AI-first free for 25 calls a month or $150 for 75; human-first from $300 a month for 30 calls | Smith.ai's receptionists or its AI | [19] [20] |
| Abby Connect | Phone answering by people, AI or both | From $165 a month for 50 minutes | Abby Connect's receptionists or its AI | [21] |
We checked every company's pages on 2026-09-29. Prices and plan names change; the links in the sources are the ones to trust.
Ten questions to ask before you hire an AI employee
- Who answers for the work? Ask for a name and a phone number.
- What can it publish, send or spend without asking? Get the answer in writing, and ask how it is enforced.
- Does it have its own email address and phone number? Or does it work through yours, as you?
- Is every action on a record you can read? Each thing it did, when, and why, not a summary.
- What does the first week produce, and do you see it before or after you pay?
- What does it cost against the salary you posted? Count the plan, the usage and your own hours running it.
- Where does it work? In the channels your team already uses, or in an app of its own.
- What happens to your data? Who can see it, where it is kept, and whether it is used to train a model.
- How does it learn your preferences? From your edits and approvals, or only from instructions you keep writing.
- How do you stop it? Ask what it takes and when the billing stops.
When each is the right choice
- Choose Allying when you posted a job and want it done in your own channels, with the first week done before you pay and a named person who answers for it.
- Choose an agent you run (Muse for Small Business, OpenAI's dots, Grok Bot) when you want to run it yourself, the work is analysis and drafts you will approve, and you want to spend nothing, or up to about $100 a month.
- Choose an app of AI helpers (Sintra, Marblism, Lindy) when you want help across many small tasks for tens of dollars a month and will direct each helper.
- Choose an AI employee built for one job (James AI) when you want one job built for you and can wait a week or two, or Vendasta when your agency already offers it.
- Choose phone answering (Smith.ai, Abby Connect) when the job is the phone and you want people on the line when it matters.
More comparisons
Questions people ask
What is the best AI employee for a small business?
If you posted a job and want it done, Allying: it does the job on your posting for 30% of the posted salary a month, with a monthly minimum for each job, in your own channels, with a named person who answers for it and the first week done before any conversation. If you want to run the work yourself, an agent such as Muse for Small Business (free with a usage limit), OpenAI's dots (with ChatGPT Pro, from $100 a month) or Grok Bot (with paid Cursor plans, from $20 a month) costs little and leaves the checking and approving with you. For many small tasks, Sintra, Marblism and Lindy cost tens of dollars a month. For the phone, Smith.ai and Abby Connect answer with AI, people or both.
Can an AI employee run my social media?
Several can help. Muse for Small Business reads your Instagram analytics and Facebook Pages and drafts campaigns for your approval, Sintra and Marblism each include a social media helper, and Vendasta's partners sell an AI Social Media Manager. Allying does the social media manager job you posted, in your brand, with the first week done before any conversation: $1,500 a month on a $60,000 posting.
Can an AI employee answer my phone?
Yes. Smith.ai's AI-first plans start free for 25 calls a month, and its human-first receptionist plans start at $300 a month for 30 calls. Abby Connect starts at $165 a month for 50 minutes, with people, AI or both. Marblism's receptionist comes with a phone number in the US, Canada or the UK. Allying does the phone half of a receptionist job you posted: it answers every call on the numbers you forward, while the front desk stays with your staff, and the first week is done before any conversation.
Is there an AI employee that shows the work before I pay?
Several let you try first, though you run them yourself: Muse is free with a usage limit, Smith.ai's AI-first plan is free for 25 calls a month, and Grok Bot has a trial credit. Vendasta's partners can show a business a starter website, a trained AI receptionist and a visibility audit before it pays. James AI starts with seven free days once it is built. Allying does the first week of the job you posted before any conversation; if you go ahead, the free week starts with a short call and the first charge comes on day 8.
How much does Allying cost compared with these?
Allying is priced against the job you posted: 30% of the posted salary a month, with a monthly minimum for each job, so $1,500 a month on a $60,000 social media manager posting. The agents and apps above cost less a month, and you direct the work yourself; Allying includes a named specialist who answers for it.
Hiring for this job
Your contact for anything on this page is Mae Santos, co-founder of Allying: hello@allying.com.
The work is done with AI and overseen by a named specialist who answers for it.
Sources
- Meta, The Future Is for Everyone: Muse for Small Business. Read on 2026-09-29. Published September 29, 2026. Muse is "a personal AI agent available in the US and Canada", now with "new skills and connectors inside Muse to help people run their businesses"; "Muse can connect your Instagram professional account analytics, Facebook Pages, and Meta ad accounts in a few clicks"; connectors include "Intuit QuickBooks", "Klaviyo", "Shopify", "Slack" and "Stripe"; the prompts to try include "draft a campaign for next week"; "You're in control: nothing publishes, sends, or spends without your approval."
- Meta Help Center, About Muse subscriptions. Read on 2026-09-29. "Muse is available for free with a usage limit"; "Power plan ($20/month)", "500M Muse tokens per week"; "Maximum plan ($100/month)", "3B Muse tokens per week".
- OpenAI, Introducing dots. Read on 2026-09-29. Dots "have their own cloud computer, learn from feedback over time"; "they can readily connect to over 4,000 apps"; "Dots can still make mistakes, so always review consequential work"; "Your first dot is included in your Pro or Business Premium plan at no extra cost."
- OpenAI Help Center, Getting started with your dot. Read on 2026-09-29. "Give your dot a goal and define what it can do on its own"; "At launch, you cannot give your dot its own standalone email address"; "Your dot cannot initiate calls to you at launch."
- OpenAI Help Center, About ChatGPT Pro tiers. Read on 2026-09-29. "Pro 100" at "$100", "Pro 200" at "$200" and "Pro 500" at "$500" a month; "Pro is billed monthly."
- OpenAI Help Center, ChatGPT Business overview. Read on 2026-09-29. "Premium seats cost $100 per user per month when billed annually, or $125 per user per month when billed monthly"; "A Business workspace requires at least 2 Standard or Premium seats in total".
- xAI Docs, Grok Bot. Read on 2026-09-29. "AI teammates with names, jobs, and context that compounds over time. Each Bot works on a persistent cloud computer with a browser, filesystem, and terminal"; it "comes back when something needs your approval"; access "is included with every paid individual Cursor plan and with the Cursor Teams plan, or through an individual SuperGrok account link."
- Cursor Docs, Grok Bot plans and billing. Read on 2026-09-29. "Grok Bot access is included on every paid individual Cursor plan and on Cursor Teams", or by "linking an individual SuperGrok, SuperGrok Plus, SuperGrok Heavy, or X Premium+ subscription"; "Grok Bot does not have a separate subscription"; the free trial "is a usage credit rather than a set number of days, though a 7-day window also applies".
- Cursor, Pricing. Read on 2026-09-29. Individual "$20 / mo." with "Grok Bot access"; Teams "$40 / user / mo." with "Grok Bot access".
- Sintra, home page. Read on 2026-09-29. "we built AI employees for real business roles. Each worker is designed to take ownership of a specific function"; the helpers include Soshie, "Social Media Manager", Cassie, "Customer Support Specialist", Emmie, "Email Marketing Specialist", Seomi, "SEO Specialist" and Vizzy, "Virtual Assistant".
- Sintra, Pricing. Read on 2026-09-29. The "1-month plan" at "$48.50 /mo" (from "$97", "Save 50%"); the "12-month plan" at "$15.60 /mo"; the "3-month plan" at "$23.60 /mo"; every plan: "All 12 helpers", "250 monthly credits", "15+ integrations", "14-day money-back guarantee".
- Marblism, Pricing. Read on 2026-09-29. "Plans start at $24/month on the yearly option. Every plan includes all 7 AI Employees, 50 hours of work, unlimited team members, and unlimited businesses"; the seven: an exec assistant (Eva), social media (Sonny), lead generation (Stan), an SEO expert (Penny), a receptionist (Rachel), a website builder (Walter) and a legal assistant (Linda); the receptionist comes with "Phone Numbers (US/CA/UK)".
- Marblism, home page. Read on 2026-09-29. "Get an AI Team who run your inbox, socials, SEO, lead generation, calls, and support"; "AI Employees handle tasks automatically and check in only if they need your input or approval."
- Lindy, Pricing. Read on 2026-09-29. Plus "$29.99/mo per user" with "3k credits / user / mo"; Pro "$99.99/mo per user"; Max "$199.99/mo per user"; "Slack-native teammate in threads + mentions"; "Anything with outside impact waits for approval such as sending an email, updating a ticket, posting to another channel, publishing a doc."
- James AI, home page. Read on 2026-09-29. "Hire James, an AI employee for anything"; "Tell him the job. Our engineers then build him for your business in 1-2 weeks"; "From $500 a month for each job, after 7 free days. James works out your price on the call"; "Text him on iMessage, or open your James page"; "Your James page has a help form that goes straight to our team"; "if anyone asks, he says he is an AI".
- Vendasta, AI Employees. Read on 2026-09-29. Vendasta is "an AI customer acquisition and engagement platform built for local businesses and the partners who serve them"; the roles include "AI Receptionist", "AI Reputation Specialist", "AI Social Media Manager", "AI Blogger" and "AI Support Agent"; "66,000+ partners resell the full platform under their own brand."
- Vendasta, news release of September 22, 2026: Easy AI Onboarding. Read on 2026-09-29. "Every local business a partner invites now receives a live starter website, a trained AI receptionist, and a business visibility audit built automatically, before the business pays or logs in for the first time"; "Partners choose which products appear, set their own retail pricing".
- Vendasta, Pricing. Read on 2026-09-29. Plans for partners: "$99/month minimum" of wholesale products and services with "No contract"; "$499/month minimum" and "$999/month minimum" on a "1 year contract". The page lists no price for a business buying from a partner.
- Smith.ai, AI receptionist pricing. Read on 2026-09-29. AI-first: "Free" at "$0 mo" for "25 calls/mo ($3.00/call after that)"; "Pro" at "$150/mo" for 75 calls, "$2.00/call"; "Enterprise" at "$500/mo".
- Smith.ai, receptionist pricing. Read on 2026-09-29. Human-first: "Starter", "30 calls", "$300 / month"; "Basic", "90 calls", "$810 / month"; "Pro", "300 calls", "$2,100 / month"; "Smith is a month-to-month service."
- Abby Connect, Pricing. Read on 2026-09-29. "Just human, just AI, or both. You choose how each call is handled and switch the mix at anytime"; Starter "$165 per month" for "50 Abby Minutes"; Essential "$329" for 100; Professional "$599" for 200; Growth "$1,380" for 500; "Double your Abby minutes when you choose AI"; "Month-To-Month".