Has anyone used AI or automations to reduce admin payroll?

We’re currently around a $1.7MM run rate with 3 admins plus managers, and one thing I’ve been heavily focused on lately is using AI/automation to prevent admin payroll from scaling linearly with revenue.

A few years ago, every growth problem felt like:
“we need another office person.”

Now we’re trying to solve problems with systems first:

• automated follow-ups
• templated customer communication
• AI-assisted email/text drafting
• better scheduling workflows
• SOP documentation
• automating repetitive admin tasks
• reducing internal back-and-forth

Not trying to eliminate people (more trying to let the existing team handle higher revenue without constantly adding overhead).

Right now our indirect payroll (excluding owner pay) sits around 12% including managers, and I’m curious where other companies are landing operationally. Would love to hear what’s actually working in real businesses vs just AI hype.