5 “Boring” AI Automations That Actually Sell for $1,500+ Each

Why the most profitable AI businesses aren’t flashy chatbots — they’re unsexy systems that solve real problems

The $72K Reality Check Nobody Talks About

Everyone’s building AI agents and chatbots. Meanwhile, I’m over here selling “boring” automations for $1,500 to $10,000+ each. Here’s what nobody tells you: The flashy stuff gets attention on Twitter. The boring stuff pays the bills. When I scaled my automation agency to $72,000 per month, it wasn’t because I built the next ChatGPT wrapper. It was because I solved mundane problems that keep business owners awake at 3 AM — like unpaid invoices, repetitive email sorting, and content creation bottlenecks. This article breaks down 5 specific automation systems you can build today using tools like Make.com and n8n. Each one solves a real business problem. Each one can be sold for serious money.

Why I Started Building “Unsexy” Automations

I used to chase the shiny objects too. Every week, there was a new AI framework promising to “revolutionize everything.” I’d spend hours building complex agents that could theoretically do amazing things — but struggled to find paying customers. Then I had a conversation with a manufacturing company owner. He wasn’t interested in my AI agent that could “think creatively.” He wanted to know why 30% of his invoices were sitting unpaid for weeks. That’s when it clicked: Business owners don’t buy technology. They buy solutions to problems that cost them money or time. The “boring” automations I’m about to show you? They solve expensive problems. That’s why they sell. Press enter or click to view image in full size

Illustration generated using AI with a text-based prompt, showcasing a stylized visual concept in a clean, minimal design.

System #1: The Search Intent Scraper ($1,500-$3,000)

What it does: Finds companies hiring for specific positions, scrapes decision-maker info, and automatically adds them to personalized cold email sequences. Why it works: Sales teams spend hours manually researching prospects. This does it automatically. The Process:

Scrapes LinkedIn job postings for companies hiring (SDRs, account managers, etc.)
Extracts company data: name, website, job details, compensation
Uses email verification services (like AnyMailFinder) to find decision-makers
Researches prospects with AI-powered web search
Generates personalized icebreakers based on the research
Automatically adds to cold email campaigns

Real example output: Instead of “Hey John, want to buy my service?” you get “Hey John, admire how TechCorp champions diversity in digital talent. Also love your thought leadership on the future of remote work. Saw you’re hiring for an SDR role…” Why clients pay big: This system can generate 50+ qualified leads per week, completely hands-off. If each lead is worth $1,000+ in potential revenue, the ROI is obvious.

System #2: The Podcast Repurposing Engine ($2,000-$4,000)

What it does: Takes any podcast URL, transcribes it, extracts key insights, and generates platform-specific social media content with custom images. The Magic Behind It:

Transcribes entire podcast using AI
Identifies 10 most engaging discussion points
Generates separate posts for Instagram, LinkedIn, and Facebook (different styles for each platform)
Creates custom images for each post using AI
Stores everything in a content calendar
Auto-publishes on schedule

Why content creators love this: One 60-minute podcast becomes 30+ pieces of social content. That’s weeks of posting handled automatically. The secret sauce: Platform-specific optimization. LinkedIn posts are longer and professional. Instagram posts are shorter with visual hooks. Facebook posts focus on engagement.

System #3: The Invoice Follow-Up Automator ($1,500-$5,000)

This might be the most “boring” system on the list. It’s also the one that makes clients the most money immediately.

The problem: B2B companies typically have 20–40% of their invoices sitting unpaid at any given time. That’s cash flow hell.

The solution: Automated follow-up sequences based on how long invoices have been outstanding.

How It Works:

Connects to existing payment systems (Stripe, QuickBooks, etc.)
Identifies overdue invoices automatically
Sends different follow-up emails based on timing:
7 days: Friendly reminder
14 days: More direct follow-up
21 days: Urgent notice
28+ days: Final notice

Real client result: One manufacturing client recovered $47,000 in outstanding invoices within 60 days of implementing this system. The automation cost them $3,000.

System #4: The Cyclic Content Generator ($2,500-$6,000)

What it does: Takes a single keyword and generates a fully-researched, long-form article with custom images and proper formatting. This isn’t just “AI writes blog post.” This is sophisticated content research and creation. The Research Process:

Searches for existing high-ranking articles on the topic
Analyzes competitor content structure and key points
Builds comprehensive outlines using competitor insights
Generates content section-by-section (not all at once)
Creates custom images for each section
Formats everything into publication-ready documents

Why it’s different: Most AI content tools generate generic fluff. This system researches your competition first, then creates content that’s actually competitive.

Client use case: Travel blog owners use this to generate in-depth destination guides. Each article takes 2 hours instead of 2 days, and the quality rivals human-written content.

System #5: The Email Categorization System ($1,200-$2,500)

Every business owner’s nightmare: inbox chaos. The simple solution: AI-powered email sorting that actually works.

The Setup:

Monitors inbox for new emails
Categorizes each email using AI (customizable categories)
Automatically labels and organizes
Marks non-urgent emails as read
Sends daily summaries of important messages

Why founders pay for this: Email overwhelm kills productivity. When your inbox processes itself, you get hours back every week.

The psychology factor: This system makes clients feel more in control of their business immediately. That emotional payoff is worth the investment.

The Mindset Shift That Changes Everything

Here’s what I learned after selling dozens of these systems: Clients don’t care about your technology. They care about their problems. The most profitable automations solve problems that:

Cost money when ignored (unpaid invoices)
Take significant time to do manually (content creation)
Create daily stress (email overwhelm)
Impact business growth (lead generation)

Stop building what’s technically impressive. Start building what’s financially necessary. The “boring” label is actually a feature, not a bug. When something looks simple, clients can understand it. When they understand it, they buy it.

Your Next Steps

Ready to start building and selling these systems? Pick one automation from this list — whichever solves a problem you’ve personally experienced. Build it. Use it for yourself first. Then start showing it to potential clients. The templates and blueprints for every system I showed you are available in my automation community. But honestly? You don’t need perfect templates to get started. You need to solve real problems for real people. Which of these 5 systems would solve the biggest problem in your own business? Let me know in the comments — I read every single one.

Bonus: The $1,500+ Pricing Psychology

Why can you charge $1,500+ for these “simple” systems? Because you’re not selling automation. You’re selling outcomes:

Recovered revenue (invoice system)
Saved time (content generator)
Reduced stress (email sorter)
Generated leads (search scraper)

When a client says “this saved me 10 hours per week,” they’re not questioning your $3,000 price tag. They’re wondering why they waited so long to buy it.

Read the full article here: https://medium.com/write-a-catalyst/5-boring-ai-automations-that-actually-sell-for-1-500-each-6ba270aac60c