Automation does not always pay. There are volumes at which a person is cheaper, and tasks that should not be automated at any volume.
Costing the person
Take an hour of work: how many comments does someone write if they write them thoughtfully? Multiply by the hourly rate and you have the cost of one hand-written comment. Then add that people do not work around the clock, get ill and take holidays.
Costing the automation
Cost per comment is a model call plus a share of subscription, accounts and proxies spread over volume. As volume grows that share falls, while an hourly rate does not move. That is where the crossover comes from.
Where the line sits
At small volumes a person is often cheaper: setting automation up takes time, and that time does not repay itself over ten comments a day. At large volumes the difference becomes a multiple, because automation costs barely grow with volume.
The second half of the line is time of day. People do not work at night, and discussions run around the clock; the first comment under a morning post belongs to whoever was not asleep.
What not to automate
- Real objections. Where someone hesitates and negotiates, you need a person.
- Money and deadlines. A model's mistake here costs more than the time it saved.
- Anything requiring accountability. A promise made by a machine is still yours to keep.
The sensible arrangement
Automation handles volume and first contact; a person takes over once the conversation gets specific. Cheaper than either extreme, and better than both. An hour a week reading what the automation actually writes is part of the model, not an optional extra — the tools are on the automation page.