Score 100/100
Operational efficiency
36.7% cost reduction
Automation trims labour-heavy stages without sacrificing flagship quality.
Advanced ROI simulation
AI content operations ROI & capacity planner
Compare traditional editorial workflows with AI-assisted programmes. Quantify cost savings, throughput gains, and the governance investments required to scale premium content without diluting brand equity.
9 team members 24 assets / month 64% automation factor
Monthly savings
£12,077
Annual runway
£145K
Payback period
1 month
Content programme inputs
Investment & operations inputs
Quick impact summary
- Traditional monthly cost£32,895
- AI-assisted monthly cost£20,818
- Net monthly savings£12,077
- ROI vs AI investment352.4%
- Throughput gain1.6×
- Assets unlocked14
Words shipped per month
58,320
Base words 43,200 · Localisation multiplier 1.35×
Seat allocation & investment
9 team members require 3 seat blocks on the selected AI platform. Adjust seat count to avoid paying for unused capacity on large plans.
AI investment: £3,427 per month
Prompt & QA ops: £3,130 per month
Governance value: £16,733 strategic hours redeployed
Score 89/100
Quality & governance
2 languages supported
Integrated SEO copilots and guardrails help maintain expertise signals.
Score 93/100
Scale acceleration
14 extra assets unlocked
Redeploy capacity into experiments, refreshes, and localisation sprints.
Annualised savings runway
£145K
Redirect savings into premium storytelling, data enrichment, or channel tests.
Strategic capacity unlocked
176 hours
Redeploy senior talent into strategy, analytics, and stakeholder alignment.
Knowledge leverage
64% automation factor
Prompt libraries, knowledge graphs, and QA scripts sustain accuracy.
Experimentation budget
£17.1K
Blend realised savings with redeployed hours to fund rapid testing cycles.
Traditional workflow cost anatomy
- Research & briefing£5.3K
- Content writing£13K
- Editing & QA£2.9K
- Design & creative£2.5K
- Distribution orchestration£2K
- Strategic direction£2.8K
- SEO & optimisation£2.4K
- Compliance & approvals£1.3K
- Project management£780
Total monthly£32.9K
AI-enabled workflow cost anatomy
- AI platform subscription£297
- Prompt ops & automation£3K
- AI-assisted research£4.2K
- AI-assisted writing£3.8K
- Human oversight & QA£2.1K
- Design & creative support£2.2K
- Strategic direction£1.4K
- SEO & optimisation£1.3K
- Compliance & governance£2K
- Operational management£435
Total monthly£20.8K
ROI forecast & narrative
Translate operational metrics into leadership-ready talking points for investment and change management.
6-month outlook
£72.5K
Projected cumulative net savings.
Year-one ROI
352.4%
Return relative to AI platform investment.
Payback period
1 month
Timeline to break-even at current savings level.
Leadership-ready story
• Shift editorial hours to experimentation, lifecycle journeys, and premium updates.
• Maintain quality by pairing automation with QA and compliance guardrails.
• Localise voice and persona playbooks without expanding headcount linearly.
Guardrails & governance
• Embed prompt ops, QA, and compliance checkpoints before ramping velocity.
• Track source attribution, fact-checking, and version control to sustain trust.
• Align with legal and infosec early to accelerate procurement and rollout.
Ready to operationalise AI-assisted storytelling?
Save £12.1K per month, redeploy 176 hours, and ship 14 extra assets without expanding headcount.
Frequently asked questions
How accurate is the automation factor used in this model?
We blend public benchmarks with practitioner interviews. Adjust automation sliders and AI plan selection to mirror your prompt maturity, compliance requirements, and knowledge management discipline.
Does the calculator cover image, video, or audio outputs?
The core model focuses on written content workflows. The visual richness slider estimates additional design support. For multimedia production, duplicate the analysis using bespoke stage timings.
What team inputs should be verified with finance?
Validate fully loaded labour rates, seat counts, and subscription pricing with finance. Include regional uplifts, freelance retainer costs, and contractual minimums to avoid under budgeting.
How do we keep quality high when scaling output with AI?
Pair automation with prompt ops, QA hours, fact-checking automation, and compliance checkpoints. The resilience score highlights where extra oversight may be required before scaling volumes.
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Disclaimer
This calculator uses public pricing benchmarks, typical automation factors, and industry-standard labour rates to model AI-assisted content production. Results are indicative only and do not constitute financial advice. Validate assumptions with your finance, legal, and compliance teams before committing to tooling or headcount changes. Some links may be affiliate links—see our affiliate disclosure for details.