8 min read
Search for AI Agents: Paid APIs vs a Self-Hosted Instance
An agent that cannot search only knows its training data. We compare paid search APIs and a self-hosted SearXNG instance on cost per query, privacy and what breaks.
- AI
- Automation
Insights
Notes from the work.
Practical guides on AI coding agents, LLM costs, websites and custom software: what we built, what it cost and what we would do differently.
Articles tagged Automation
- 9 min read
Your Config File Is an API, So Treat It Like One
A config file has callers, a contract and a failure mode. Validate it before the write, replace it atomically, control concurrent writers, keep history and explain every key.
- Web development
- Automation
- 7 min read
AI Adoption in Romania: Where SMEs Stand in 2026
AI adoption in Romania: 5.21% of enterprises used AI in 2025, the lowest share in the EU. Eurostat data, first use cases, costs, GDPR, the AI Act and verified funding.
- AI
- Small business
- Automation
- 7 min read
AI Agents ROI: A Practical Formula for Your Business
AI agents ROI comes down to time saved times loaded cost, minus tokens, review and maintenance. A formula, a worked example, a pilot method and when not to automate.
- AI
- Automation
- Business
- 8 min read
Google Calendar Booking on Your Website, Without a SaaS
Add Google Calendar booking on your own website with no booking SaaS: free slots from free/busy, double-booking checks, reminders and Meet links.
- Booking
- Web development
- Automation
- 8 min read
Translate Word Document with AI and Keep Formatting
To translate a Word document with AI and keep the formatting, extract the text run by run, translate it in chunks with context, and write it back into the same runs. PDFs need extraction or OCR first.
- AI
- Translation
- Automation
- 2 min read
A simple way to decide what to automate first
Small teams do not lack automation ideas, they lack a way to rank them. A one-page scoring method we use in consulting engagements.
- Automation
- Consulting
- Operations
