# AI Automation Agency Template: Run the $999 Audit Yourself > Fork a Hermes microVM that prospects, teases free mini-audits, sells a $999 AI audit on your Stripe, and drafts deliverables you approve. No free trial. - Published: 2026-07-29 · Updated: 2026-07-29 · jurniti - Canonical: https://www.jurniti.com/blog/ai-automation-agency-template Search "ai automation agency." You get hire-me sales pages. You get YouTube courses. You get listicles of agencies to buy from. Almost nobody ships a **forkable agent**. That agent should already run the offer people are shouting about right now: a **~$999 AI tools assessment** for small businesses. Free teaser first. Your Stripe. You still own every cold send and every paid deliverable. That is the [AI Automation Agency](/templates/ai-automation-agency) template on jurniti. Hermes. Its own microVM. Not a PDF syllabus. ## The problem is not "what to sell" You already know the loud playbook. Greg Isenberg and Corey Ganim's **$999 AI Tools Assessment** episode is the current siren. Discovery call, AI-assisted analysis, stupid-simple client report. About 87k views in the last research window for a reason. The problem is **operating the loop**. - Blank page for prospecting - Spreadsheets for suppression - "I'll wire Stripe later" - Teaser copy that never leaves Notes - Delivery that starts after the payment, from zero, at 11pm Do the math on one client. | Step | DIY drag | | --- | --- | | Prospect 20 local businesses | 2–4 hrs | | Write 20 teaser mini-audits | 4–8 hrs | | Set safe send + unsubscribe | 1–2 hrs | | Wire Stripe Payment Link + fulfillment check | 2–4 hrs | | Draft paid report after the call | 2–3 hrs | | Package one automation handoff | 2–4 hrs | That is **a full work week** before you have a machine that runs twice. Courses do not remove that week. They sell you another tab of modules. ## What an AI automation agency is (operator language) Not job-board "AI consultant" fluff. It is a service business. - Find SMBs with repetitive work - Prove value before the invoice (teaser from public info) - Sell a fixed-price audit - Deliver a report + one concrete automation handoff - Optionally open a retainer Search demand is real. DataForSEO US 2026-07-26: **`ai automation agency` ~4,400/mo at LOW competition** (CPC about $17.80). Related: `ai audit` ~1,300/mo. `ai consultant` ~8,100/mo, mixed with job-seekers. We do not pretend every click is a founder. ## What the template actually runs Fork [ai-automation-agency](/templates/ai-automation-agency). Hermes works this loop: **find → tease → outreach → get paid → audit → deliver → handoff**. 1. **Prospects** local businesses in a niche + city (home services by default) from public info only. 2. **Teases** 2–3 AI opportunities in hours and dollars reclaimed. Free mini-audit inline in email. No attachment spam. 3. **Guards every send** through one path: suppression ledger, daily cap, CAN-SPAM footer, secret scan. 4. **Charges on YOUR Stripe** with a restricted key and Payment Link. Fulfillment unlocks only when session, client, amount, and currency match. 5. **Fulfills the audit** after your discovery call notes: 3–7 tool prescriptions with hours-reclaimed math shown. 6. **Hands off one automation** (n8n blueprint + plain-English runbook) plus a retainer draft if you want the next conversation. You still do the discovery call. The agent does not replace the relationship. It replaces the blank page and the duct-taped scripts. ## Human gates are the product Most "agency bots" want unsupervised send. This template refuses that fantasy on purpose. | Gate | Who owns it | | --- | --- | | Cold email send | Guarded send path + caps. Not free-fire cron. | | Client paid deliverable | APPROVED marker only **you** can create | | Card / spend | Not this template. Different product if you need it. | If you want lights-out spam, you are in the wrong gallery. Same doctrine as the [GTM collection](/blog/gtm-agent-templates-that-never-auto-send): **agents draft. Humans send.** ## Why a microVM instead of a laptop and Zapier Zapier wires apps. A course gives slides. A jurniti template forks a **paid Firecracker microVM** with Hermes already installed, skills on disk, and isolation from other tenants. - Provisioning is minutes, not a weekend of "set up my stack." - The agent keeps running when your laptop sleeps. - BYOK model keys. jurniti does not mark up tokens in v1. No free trial. No free tier. First purchase: **30-day money-back guarantee**. Model spend and Stripe fees stay yours. ## Fit / not fit You fit if three things are true. You can hold a discovery call and approve deliverables. You want a concrete $999-style AI audit offer for local SMBs. You will set mailbox + Stripe keys after fork. You do not fit if three other things are true. You want fully hands-off sending or delivery. You only want rev-share marketplaces with no service work. You need a non-Hermes harness (this template is Hermes). That filter is intentional. Buyers who want autopilot spam churn. Operators who own the call stay. ## Next step Name a niche and a city. Fork the template. Set keys. Send the first teaser to **your own inbox** before any real prospect sees it. That is an AI automation agency you can operate. Not another course tab. ## Frequently asked questions ### What is an AI automation agency? A service business that helps companies find, prescribe, and implement AI tools for repetitive work. Often sold as fixed-price audits or readiness assessments, not pure software licenses. ### What does the jurniti AI Automation Agency template do? It is a public Hermes template you fork into a paid microVM. The agent prospects local businesses from public info, stages free teaser mini-audits from its own mailbox, sells a $999 AI audit through your Stripe Payment Link, then drafts the paid report and one automation handoff for your sign-off. ### Does the agent auto-send cold email? No. Outreach goes through one guarded send path: suppression ledger, daily cap, CAN-SPAM footer, secret scan. Paid client deliverables wait for an APPROVED marker only you can create. The agent cannot invent that marker. ### Is there a free trial? No free trial and no free tier. Forking provisions a real paid Hermes plan. The first purchase includes a 30-day money-back guarantee. Model spend and Stripe fees are yours. ### How is this different from a course on starting an AI automation agency? Courses teach a stack. This template is a running agent seat on a Firecracker microVM with the prospect → teaser → pay → fulfill loop already built. You still hold discovery calls and approve every paid deliverable. ### What keys do I need? OPENROUTER_API_KEY (or your Hermes model path), a dedicated sending mailbox via hermes gateway setup, and a Stripe restricted key for Payment Links and Checkout read. Full Stripe secret keys are not required.