{
  "format": "minglabs/cost-example/v1",
  "title": "AI agent production cost: illustrative inputs and calculation",
  "publisher": "MING Labs",
  "version": "1.0",
  "date": "2026-10-01",
  "status": "illustrative-not-measured",
  "currency": "EUR",
  "period": "one month",
  "taskExample": "Preparing a proposal draft for review and acceptance by a human. This is an illustrative scenario, not a measured deployment.",
  "inputs": {
    "attemptedTasks": 100,
    "acceptedTasks": 100,
    "runtimePerAttempt": 2,
    "reviewMinutesPerAttempt": 15,
    "reviewerHourlyCost": 50,
    "operatorHours": 4,
    "operatorHourlyCost": 80,
    "fixedRuntimeCost": 120
  },
  "exclusions": [
    "Initial implementation and integration",
    "Tax",
    "Exceptional incident recovery",
    "Business losses from errors"
  ],
  "acceptance": "An accountable human accepts the completed task for its intended business use. All attempts are reviewed; failed attempts still incur costs.",
  "htmlUrl": "https://www.minglabs.com/insights/answers/what-does-it-cost-to-run-an-ai-agent-in-production#worked-example",
  "formulas": {
    "variableRuntime": "attemptedTasks * runtimePerAttempt",
    "review": "attemptedTasks * reviewMinutesPerAttempt / 60 * reviewerHourlyCost",
    "operator": "operatorHours * operatorHourlyCost",
    "total": "variableRuntime + fixedRuntimeCost + review + operator",
    "costPerAcceptedTask": "total / acceptedTasks; null when acceptedTasks is zero"
  },
  "results": {
    "variableRuntime": 200,
    "fixedRuntime": 120,
    "review": 1250,
    "operator": 320,
    "total": 1890,
    "costPerAcceptedTask": 18.9
  },
  "sensitivity": {
    "assumption": "Same cost and review of all 100 attempts; only the number accepted changes.",
    "scenarios": [
      {
        "acceptedTasks": 100,
        "variableRuntime": 200,
        "fixedRuntime": 120,
        "review": 1250,
        "operator": 320,
        "total": 1890,
        "costPerAcceptedTask": 18.9
      },
      {
        "acceptedTasks": 80,
        "variableRuntime": 200,
        "fixedRuntime": 120,
        "review": 1250,
        "operator": 320,
        "total": 1890,
        "costPerAcceptedTask": 23.625
      },
      {
        "acceptedTasks": 0,
        "variableRuntime": 200,
        "fixedRuntime": 120,
        "review": 1250,
        "operator": 320,
        "total": 1890,
        "costPerAcceptedTask": null
      }
    ]
  }
}