Will a company without AI compete only on price? How automation changes the cost and speed of service

Price is the easiest advantage to copy. When a competitor also cuts its price, the arguments run out and both companies earn less. The winner is the one with lower costs, or the one that gives customers something more than price: speed, reliable delivery dates, good service.

In many companies, service costs are a hidden part of the price. Retyping orders, preparing quotes, answering repetitive questions and manual approvals take up a lot of people’s time. That time goes into the cost of every order, even though nobody counts it that way.

The example below shows how to calculate the cost of service from your own data. Three numbers are enough: the number of people, the cost of their work and the number of orders handled.

According to Eurostat, in 2025 one in five EU companies with at least 10 employees used AI technologies. In Poland, it was roughly one in twelve. That is one of the lowest figures in the EU.

For a Polish company, this is two pieces of news. The bad news: competitors from other EU countries that you compete with in export markets are more likely to be using AI already. The good news: in the domestic market most companies do not yet use AI, so it is still possible to build an advantage.

The best-documented effect of AI concerns work with text and customer service. In a study published in the Quarterly Journal of Economics in 2025, an AI assistant increased customer service staff productivity by 15% on average. Less experienced staff gained the most, because the assistant suggested to them the approaches used by their best colleagues.

AI does not lower costs simply by being implemented. It works when it takes over a specific part of the work in a process that is repeated many times a week. In practice, there are three mechanisms, described below.

The third is the least visible. A company without automation has to hire every time sales grow, while a company with automation can grow with the same team. This difference only shows up in a period of growth, but that is when it is greatest.

A customer who sends an enquiry to several companies often chooses the one that replies first and with specifics. In a study described in the Harvard Business Review, companies that called back within an hour were almost seven times more likely to reach a decision-maker than those that did so an hour later.

The study concerned enquiries from online forms in the US, so do not apply the figure directly to your market. But the direction is clear: every hour of delay reduces the chance of a sale. Below are the situations in which speed usually counts most.

Competing on price is rarely a decision. It is usually a process that happens slowly, quarter by quarter. The company feels that “the market is getting tougher”, when in fact it is the competitors that have changed.

If you recognise two or more of the signs below, look at your service costs and response times before you approve another discount.

In a smaller company, every working day saved matters more, because the work is spread across fewer people. Many AI tools need neither your own servers nor data specialists, and work within the software the company already uses.

For example, Microsoft 365 Copilot Business is designed for organisations with up to 300 users and, according to Microsoft’s price list, costs USD 21 per user per month with annual billing (as of October 2026). Until 31 December 2026, a promotional price of USD 18 applies. However, it is worth buying licences first for the people who work most with documents and email, not for the whole company.

Small scale has a downside too. A company of 30 people rarely has someone who can run a project alongside their own job. That is why a narrow first step and clearly assigned responsibility are especially important here.

Do not start by choosing a tool. Start by establishing where the company loses the most time and money. The steps below take you from that diagnosis to the first measurable result.

The plan assumes a decision after each step. If the pilot does not meet the measure you set in advance, you end it and lose the cost of one stage, not of the whole programme.

Employees who hear about AI without an explanation usually think of redundancies. Rumours can halt a rollout more effectively than technical problems. That is why the management board should say clearly why the company is doing this, and back it up with its decisions.

The most important message concerns the goal: to relieve people of work nobody likes and to serve more customers without overtime. The second concerns the team’s involvement. The people who handle the process manually today know the most about it and should help shape the change.

While you are at it, look after your employees’ knowledge of AI. Since 2 February 2025, the AI Act (Article 4) has required every company that uses AI in its business to take steps to build that knowledge.

AI is not the answer to every margin problem. If the cause is expensive raw materials, a weak product or a poor location, office automation will not change that.

The same applies in markets where customers buy purely on the lowest price and service does not matter to them. There, AI can lower costs, but it will not build an advantage other than price. An honest diagnosis before the decision saves money and avoids disappointment.