AI Integration Services: Connecting AI to Your Business Systems
AI integration is where AI meets your actual systems: CRM, ERP, support desk, databases. Here is what it costs, which integrations already exist as ready connectors, and how to scope the ones that do not.
AI integration services connect AI models to your business systems so the AI can read your data and act in your tools. Simple integrations with ready connectors (Gmail, Google Drive, Slack, HubSpot, Notion and hundreds more) cost nothing beyond a subscription. Custom integrations into legacy or proprietary systems run $5,000 to $30,000 each, and enterprise-wide integration programs $50,000 to $120,000+. Check the connector list first; most small-business integration needs are already solved.
Key takeaways
- Ready connectors already exist for hundreds of common business apps.
- Custom integrations: $5,000 to $30,000 each; enterprise programs $50,000 to $120,000+.
- Pay for integrations into legacy, proprietary or regulated systems.
- Scope by data flow: read only, read and draft, or read and write.
- Read-only integrations are low risk; write access needs approval steps and logging.
1. Three levels of AI integration
| Level | What the AI can do | Risk | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Read | See your data, answer questions about it | Low | "Summarise this week's deals from the CRM" |
| Read and draft | Prepare actions for a human to approve | Low to medium | Drafted replies in the support desk |
| Read and write | Act directly in your systems | Medium to high | Updating records, sending messages |
Most businesses get 80% of the value from the first two levels, which are also the cheapest and safest.
2. What already has a ready connector
Email and calendar, cloud storage, chat (Slack, Teams), CRMs (HubSpot, Salesforce, Pipedrive), project tools (Notion, Asana, ClickUp, Monday), and hundreds more connect to an AI workspace with a login, not a project. Krater's list is on the app connections page. If your integration need is on a list like that, an integration services firm is selling you a login screen.
3. What genuinely needs integration work
- Legacy ERPs and on-premise databases.
- In-house tools with private APIs or no API at all.
- Systems holding regulated data that require audit logging and access control.
- High-volume write-back where errors are expensive.
Here a good integration partner is worth paying. Scope per system and per data flow, not as a "transformation".
4. How to scope an integration project
- List the systems and, for each, whether the AI needs read, draft or write access.
- Check each system against ready connectors. Cross off the solved ones.
- For the rest, ask for a fixed-price quote per integration, with logging and an approval step on writes.
- Insist on your own credentials and documented data flows.
Integration is one part of rollout; the people side is in AI implementation services and the full build vs buy logic in AI development services.
5. Data and privacy questions to settle first
Where is data processed, is it used for training, and who can see the logs? Settle that before connecting anything. Our guide to private AI for business lists the questions, and Krater's answers: EU-hosted, no training on your data.
6. Map it before you pay for it
Bring your list of systems to the free consultation. Adam Johansson will sort them into "connects today", "small integration" and "real project", and tell you what the real projects should cost. Free, no strings attached.
Get your free AI consultation
Thirty minutes with Adam Johansson, an AI expert who maps out what actually fits your business: the right tools, plan and setup for your team size and usage. Free, no strings attached.
Free for any business, any size. We reply within one business day.
Adam Johansson
AI Advisor, Krater
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Bottom line
Check ready connectors before paying for AI integration. Most common business apps already connect with a login; budget integration services for legacy, proprietary and regulated systems, scoped per system and per data flow.
Frequently asked questions
What are AI integration services?
Work that connects AI models to your business systems, such as CRM, ERP, support desk and databases, so AI can read your data and act in your tools.
How much does AI integration cost?
Ready connectors cost nothing beyond a subscription. Custom integrations run $5,000 to $30,000 each; enterprise programs $50,000 to $120,000+.
Can AI connect to my CRM without a developer?
For major CRMs like HubSpot, Salesforce and Pipedrive, yes: AI workspaces connect with a login.
Is it safe to give AI write access to business systems?
With approval steps, logging and limited permissions, yes. Start with read and draft access and add write access per workflow.
Sources: Public pricing from AI integration firms; connector catalogues from AI workspace vendors. Prices checked October 2026.