When AI automation saves less than it costs: the hidden maintenance tax of agents
djgoel123 · reddit · 2026-10-22
A resonant Reddit discussion: an agent can do a 30-minute task in 30 seconds, but then come the hours spent checking outputs, fixing mistakes, handling exceptions, and maintaining the pipeline. The poster's counterintuitive point: an automation can be technically successful while making the business no more efficient. He asks what people automated and when they realized supervision costs ate the savings — a commonly underestimated part of agent workflow ROI.
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