Building it yourself means maintaining it yourself

In a webinar about Claude I said something that might sound strange coming from someone who builds so much with agents. You can ask Claude to build a CRM for you, and it will just do it. But perhaps you already have a CRM. A little tool you pay a small amount for every month and that actually works fine for you.

You might recognise this. The longer you work with an agent, the more you notice that it can make almost anything. A dashboard, a schedule, a customer database. And then you start getting the itch with every subscription that appears on your bank statement. That is very understandable. Only, in that enthusiasm, we forget a part of the cost.

Copy the prompt at the bottom of this article. With it, you let your AI weigh up per tool whether building it yourself is really worth the effort.

What comes after building

A tool you build yourself, you also have to maintain yourself. Bugs creep in that someone has to fix. Updates and security issues come with it. And if something goes wrong on a busy day, you are the helpdesk. So there are some costs involved, even if you build it yourself.

Your agent builds you a custom CRM in an afternoon. And from that evening on, you are also the only IT department responsible for it, even on Sundays. An existing tool has a whole team for that. You simply pay for that team in that monthly price.

I wrote here before that you should check what you are paying for every month. And now I am here to tell you that you are better off keeping some subscriptions. That is less of a contradiction than it seems. In both cases you ask the same question. What does this bring me, and what does it really cost me, also in time and worries?

Frequently asked questions

Can my AI really build a custom CRM for me?

Yes, an agent like Claude can do that. Only, you also have to maintain a tool you build yourself. Fixing bugs, doing updates and monitoring security only come after building.

When is it better to choose an existing tool?

If a process always follows the same steps, or if you already have a tool that works well. Then you connect your agent to that tool and let the tool do the fixed work.

When is building it yourself a good idea?

If nothing on the market does what you need, or if your existing tool is really working against you. Let your AI make the assessment first, so you know what comes with it after building.

Where do I learn to work with agents and tools like this myself?

In 'Claude AI Power User' and 'AI automation with n8n and MCP' you get hands-on with your own tools. You can find all dates at Workshops & Events.

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