AI agency in Switzerland: AI automation for SMEs
Lexen is an AI agency, or artificial intelligence agency, based in Lausanne. We help SMEs in Switzerland, whatever their trade, win back the time lost to repetitive tasks: re-entering data between tools, recurring reports, follow-ups, sorting documents and emails.
This page is here to help you choose an AI agency with your eyes open: what matters in the Swiss context, how an engagement runs, what it costs and what no serious agency should ever promise you.
Why an AI agency in Switzerland
The main challenge of an artificial intelligence project in a Swiss SME isn’t technical: it’s knowing where the data goes, who can access it and how long it is kept. The nFADP (Swiss data protection act) applies to every business, and you remain the data controller, even when a tool or a provider handles the processing.
Where the data is hosted is therefore not a configuration detail, it’s an architecture decision. Depending on the tools chosen, your clients’ data can stay in Switzerland or pass through a foreign service. That decision is made before anything is set up, and it is spelt out in black and white in the proposal you receive.
The businesses we work with have between 5 and 50 people, often without an in-house IT team. Some work in a regulated profession, where professional secrecy adds a constraint that the nFADP doesn’t cover. Many use Swiss software such as Bexio, Abacus, Winbiz or Crésus, which an automation should work with rather than replace.
As an AI agency in Lausanne, we work with businesses across French-speaking Switzerland, and remotely with the rest of Switzerland, in French as well as English.
Five questions to ask an AI agency before signing
- Where will my clients’ data be processed, and who will have access to it?
- Is the first conversation genuine advice, or a sales meeting?
- Do the automations stay with me, documented, if I change provider?
- Do you know the tools my business already uses?
- What exactly are you promising? A promise of headcount reduction or guaranteed results should ring alarm bells.
What we automate
An artificial intelligence agency makes no sense if it sells “AI” in general. We work on one precise, measurable problem: the time your team spends on tasks that come round every week.
AI automation
Taking over repetitive work, in your tools
- Re-entry between tools: information entered once, carried over automatically to wherever it needs to go
- Recurring reports prepared from your data, ready to be reviewed
- Client or case follow-ups, triggered at the right moment
- Sorting and filing of incoming documents and emails
- Human sign-off where it matters, and measurement of the time actually saved after implementation
Our method: a free call, an audit if needed, then implementation
Some businesses already know what to automate, others don’t. The method adapts to both, and almost everything happens over video call.
| Step | What we do | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| Discovery call | A free conversation, with no sales pitch, to spot where you’re losing time and what can be automated. You then receive a written summary and a guide to finding what to automate. | 30 minutes, by video call |
| Process audit | If you don’t yet know what to automate, you show us the processes your team carries out every day. We rank what’s worth doing by time saved, complexity and risk. The price is known before we start. | From a few hours to a few days |
| Implementation | We build, test and deploy the chosen automations in your tools, with the necessary human sign-offs. | 2 to 6 weeks |
| Handover and maintenance | We hand over documented automations, check the time actually saved and look after their maintenance. | After implementation |
If you already know what to automate, show us the task during the call: we go straight to a quote, with no audit. Either way, you decide after seeing what needs doing and how much it costs, not before.
During the audit, allow for one or two video sessions on your side. An automation built without the person who actually does the task automates an imaginary version of the process.
By profession: what changes from one business to another
The tasks to take over and the constraints differ depending on your line of work. Five pages cover the most common cases:
- FiduciariesDocument extraction, document sorting, follow-ups and reconciliations, in your accounting software as it is installed. Validating entries stays with a human, and nothing is deployed during year-end closing.
- Law firms, medical practices and consultanciesThree categories of task: never the case documents or the identity of the parties, conditionally research and templates, freely time tracking, billing and follow-ups. Professional secrecy dictates the choice of tools.
- SMEs with 5 to 50 peopleRe-entry between tools, recurring reports, follow-ups and monitoring: what is repetitive and measurable gets automated, what calls for judgement stays with you. AI automation for a Swiss SME starts by putting a figure on those hours.
- Freight forwarders, 3PLs and customs brokersDocument collection, chasing missing documents, answering status requests and client reports, in your TMS or WMS. Tariff classification and approving declarations stay human.
- Property management companiesSorting and assigning tenant requests, following up repairs and contractors, reminders and owner reports. Choosing tenants and decisions on works stay human.
What does an AI agency in Switzerland cost?
The first 30-minute call is free. After that, every step is priced before we start.
| Service | Price | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| Discovery call | Free | 30 minutes, by video call |
| Process audit (if needed) | Quoted, shared before we start | From a few hours to a few days |
| Implementing the automations | Quoted | 2 to 6 weeks |
| Maintenance | Quoted | After implementation |
We don’t publish a price range for automation. The gap between two SMEs of the same size comes down to the number of tools to connect and the state of their data, not their headcount: a published figure would be right for one and wrong for the other.
What makes a quote vary
- The number of tasks or processes to automate
- The tools to connect and how they interface with each other
- The state of the data: clean and structured, or in need of tidying up
- The level of follow-up you want once the automations are in place
What we don’t promise
Automation isn’t there to shrink your team, and we won’t promise you that. It takes over the preparation, not the judgement: anything that carries responsibility stays with you.
Nor do we promise that everything can be automated. Some repetitive work isn’t worth the effort, or shouldn’t go through a model. The audit says so just as clearly as it says what can be automated.
Frequently asked questions about AI agencies in Switzerland
How much does an AI agency in Switzerland cost?
At Lexen, the first 30-minute call is free. The process audit, when needed, is quoted and the price shared before we start. Implementing the automations, over 2 to 6 weeks, is priced according to the number of tasks, the tools to connect and the state of the data. We don’t publish a price range: a published figure would be right for one business and wrong for another.
What is an AI agency?
An AI agency (you may also hear AI consultant in Switzerland) helps businesses use artificial intelligence on specific problems, from the audit through to implementation. At Lexen, that means automating your teams’ repetitive work, in the tools you already use.
Is it nFADP-compliant?
Compliance depends on the architecture chosen, not on artificial intelligence itself. The choice of tools, where the data is hosted and how long it is kept is settled before anything is set up, and is set out in writing in the proposal you receive. Your business remains the data controller. For professions bound by professional secrecy, such as lawyers or medical practices, there is an additional constraint that nFADP compliance alone doesn’t cover.
Do you need an IT team to work with an AI agency?
No. Most of the businesses we work with have between 5 and 50 people and no in-house IT team. We work within your existing tools and hand over documented automations that your team understands and can use.
How long does a first engagement take?
The first call lasts 30 minutes. If you already know what to automate, implementation can follow straight on from the quote; otherwise, the process audit takes from a few hours to a few days. Implementation then takes 2 to 6 weeks, depending on the number of automations and their complexity.
Can you automate just one process?
Yes. If you only have one process to automate, a short, clearly scoped engagement costs less than a full project, and we tell you so before proposing a quote. The first 30-minute conversation is there to work that out.