DEV Community

PubliFlow
PubliFlow

Posted on

How I saved $200 on my internet bill using an AI agent

Last month, my internet bill jumped from $65 to $80. Again.

I called Comcast, waited 45 minutes, and they "found" a $10 discount. I hung up frustrated. Why do I have to do this every 6 months?

So I built an AI agent that does it for me.

The Problem

We all overpay on bills. Internet, phone, insurance, subscriptions — they quietly raise rates, hoping you won't notice. Calling customer service is:

  • Time-consuming (45+ min hold times)
  • Frustrating (scripted responses, limited authority)
  • Temporary (discounts expire in 6-12 months)

Most people don't bother negotiating. They just pay.

What I Built

BillSnip — an AI agent that:

  1. 📄 Analyzes your bills (PDF or screenshot)
  2. 🔍 Finds overcharges and compares competitor pricing
  3. 📧 Emails your provider with a personalized negotiation
  4. 🔄 Follows up until you get a better rate

How It Works

You upload your bill. The AI:

  • Extracts key data (provider, plan, price, usage)
  • Researches competitor pricing in your area
  • Identifies overcharges (hidden fees, expired promos, rate creep)
  • Generates a negotiation strategy based on your usage patterns
  • Emails your provider with a personalized argument

The AI uses DeepSeek for reasoning — it's fast, cheap, and good at negotiation language.

My First Test

I uploaded my Comcast bill ($80/month for 200Mbps).

The AI found:

  • Competitor offering 500Mbps for $65 in my area
  • My current plan had a "promo rate" that expired 8 months ago
  • I was paying $15 above market rate

The AI emailed Comcast:

"Hi, I've been a loyal customer for 3 years. I noticed [competitor] is offering 500Mbps for $65 in my area. My current bill is $80 for 200Mbps. Can you match or beat this rate?"

48 hours later, I got a response: $65/month for 500Mbps. Saved $15/month, $180/year.

The Business Model

I considered "percentage of savings" (take 20% of what we save you). But users hate sharing savings with a third party. Creates mistrust.

So I went with prepaid credits:

  • Buy $10-50 in credits upfront
  • Each analysis costs 30 credits, each negotiation email costs 20 credits
  • Credits never expire

Why this works:

  1. Full transparency — you know exactly what you're paying
  2. No conflict of interest — I'm not incentivized to under-negotiate
  3. Predictable revenue — credits = upfront cash flow
  4. User control — you choose when to spend

The Tech Stack

  • Next.js frontend (SSR for SEO)
  • FastAPI backend
  • DeepSeek API for AI reasoning
  • PostgreSQL for storage
  • Single VPS deployment ($6/month)

Total infrastructure cost: ~$50/month for the first 100 users.

What's Next

  • Expand to more provider types (insurance, medical, subscriptions)
  • Auto-switching (not just negotiation — actually switch providers for you)
  • Referral system for viral growth
  • Membership tiers that get cheaper over time

Try It Free

BillSnip is live at: https://billsnip.publiflow.vip/

Free tier: 100 credits on signup + 3 free bill analyses.

If the AI saves you $50 on a $10 credit purchase, that's a 5x return. Hard to argue with that.

Top comments (0)