Can't I just do this myself?
Yes, if you're comfortable in a terminal and can give it a few hours every week. Many of the jobs our minions do can be scripted by a capable owner.
An AI coding agent can read your site, call a keyword data service, draft a page and even publish it. What it won't do on its own is turn up every Monday, remember last month's decisions, check the facts against your records, and wait for your yes before anything goes public. That part is a routine you build and run yourself.
What the DIY setup looks like
The version owners describe to us usually has four parts:
- An AI coding agentRuns on your computer or a server, writes and runs scripts for you.
- A key for an AI modelPay-as-you-go access to the model that does the writing and the thinking.
- A key for search dataKeyword ideas, search volumes, rankings, usually charged per request.
- Your own Google accountsSearch Console and Analytics, connected so the scripts can read your real numbers.
You choose the tools, own the scripts, and pay each service directly for what you use. Nothing about that is wrong. It's a good setup for the right person.
A normal week, side by side
Both can do the work. The difference is who starts it, who checks it, and who notices when it stops.
Who does each job · checked 2 Nov 2026
| The job | Do it yourself | Digital Minions |
|---|---|---|
| Read last month's searches | YouRun the script, read the output. | MinionReads your Search Console and Analytics, read only, for the monthly report. |
| Plan what to write | YouPrompt it, decide, keep the list somewhere. | MinionA content calendar you approve, kept with your business records. |
| Get the facts right | YouPaste in your prices, towns and jobs each time, or build a store for them. | MinionWrites from your Minion Mind: the facts, prices and customers the whole team shares. |
| Write and edit pages | YouPrompt, review, paste into your site. | MinionBuilds and edits your website and shows you a preview. |
| Approve before it goes live | YouOnly if you build the step in. | Built inPublishing, emails to customers and spending all wait for an owner's yes. |
| Ask for reviews | YouAnother script, or by hand. | MinionA review ask drafted after each finished job, waiting for your yes. |
| When something breaks | YouA key expires or an API changes; you notice when the numbers stop. | UsWe keep the connections working, and a stuck job tells you why it stopped. |
| Everything that isn't search | SeparatePhones, invoices and follow-ups are other projects. | Same teamNell on the phones, follow-ups, invoices and meetings, from the same records. |
Where DIY is ahead
- Control. Every script, prompt and data source is yours to change, today.
- Paying per use. In a quiet month you might spend very little on the services themselves.
- Anything you can imagine. You aren't limited to the jobs a product offers.
- Learning. If you want to understand how it all works, building it teaches you.
Which to pick
Pick do-it-yourself if
- You enjoy building tools and have a few hours every week for it.
- You only want search work, not a wider team.
- You want to own and change every script.
- You're happy to be the one who checks facts and presses publish.
Pick Digital Minions if
- You want the jobs done and shown to you, not a tool to run.
- You want every outward step to wait for your yes, without building that yourself.
- You want search, phones, follow-ups and invoices handled from one set of records.
- You'd rather spend your hours on customers.
What we don't include
- Your own scripts or a coding agent of your own: the minions run the jobs; you lead them in plain words.
- A keyword database of our own or rank tracking against rivals. Today the minions read your Search Console for what people search to find you.
- Publishing without an owner's yes. There's no setting for that.
Plans and what each includes are on the pricing page. To see how the team takes on a job, see the platform.