What is UpServe?
UpServe is a platform for hiring an AI employee and handing work to it. Unlike a chatbot, an AI employee picks the right tools and runs the task to completion after a single instruction, and the next day it clocks in on its own, still remembering the job.
You can build and grow one yourself, or have our team build it for you and keep looking after it (see Build it yourself, or hand it off? below).
What can you do with it?
Repetitive work with a defined standard fits best. Here is what people actually hand off:
- 🧾 Partner order intake → ERP: Partners place orders like a chat through a single link; the employee asks back for anything missing and logs the order in your ERP/CRM
- 📦 Inventory checks & reorder lists: Checks ERP inventory at the same time, by the same standard, every day, and compiles the shortage reorder list
- 🗓️ Booking intake → calendar & ad management: Logs Naver Smart Place bookings into Google Calendar, reviews the ad report, and adjusts underperforming keywords
- 📄 Repetitive document review & reporting: Catches missing items and inconsistencies by the same standard and writes the review report. You only do the final check
- 🛒 Product DB management: Daily data entry like new product listings and stock updates on your storefront
- 📰 Morning briefings: Checks markets, news, or competitor pricing on its own and flags only the changes that matter
- 🎬 Content production: Plans and produces one YouTube Short a day in your channel’s tone, ready to upload
Services without a dedicated integration (Smart Store, Naver Reservations, and the like) are handled by the employee driving a real browser itself.
How is it different from other AI tools?
Let’s be honest: “the AI searches the web, schedules tasks, and remembers your conversations” isn’t special anymore. ChatGPT and Gemini now use tools, run scheduled tasks, and learn from memory too. So lining them up on those features misses the point.
The real difference isn’t a feature checklist. It’s what actually does the work.
- A chatbot is a single conversation that moves only when you speak to it. Close the window and it stops; reopen it and you’re just continuing a chat.
- An UpServe AI employee is a worker you own, one that exists on its own and runs on its own. Close your laptop, or fall asleep, and it still wakes up in the cloud to do its job, started by a scheduled run, a webhook, an external event, or a call from another employee.
In one line: a chatbot is a tool you use; an UpServe employee is an AI employee that works for you.
| Chatbot (ChatGPT, Gemini, etc.) | UpServe | |
|---|---|---|
| Basic unit | One conversation thread | AI employees you own, each with its own name, role, tools, memory, and workspace |
| When it moves | Only when you message it | Wakes up on its own via scheduled runs, webhooks, external events, or calls from other employees, even when you’re away |
| Workspace | Resets when the session ends | An AI work computer per employee: files, browser, and installed tools all persist |
| What it does | Mostly answers in text | Performs real work in your connected accounts, asking approval before risky actions |
| Collaboration | Alone | Multiple employees talk to each other and divide the work |
| Ownership | You use the provider’s bot | You build them and own, share, and publish to the community |
One picture
[Chatbot]
You ──message──▶ Chat window ──answer──▶ You
(exists only while you keep the window open)
[UpServe AI employee]: a worker that runs on its own, even when you're away
What wakes it What it does
───────────── ────────────
⏰ a scheduled run searches the web, drives a browser,
🔔 webhook / event ──▶ writes files, runs code,
💬 another employee runs risky actions only after approval,
🙋 your instruction delivers the result ──▶ 📱 You
(keeps its own workspace · accumulated memory · connected accounts)
(keeps running in the cloud even while you sleep)And yes, it works deeply from a single instruction too. Given one line like “Show me today’s AI/semiconductor briefing”, the assistant runs web search several times (see web_search (13×) below), manages the work steps as a checklist, and delivers an organized result, with sources attached.
Build it yourself, or hand it off?
There are two ways to use UpServe.
| Self-serve: build it yourself | Managed service: hand it off | |
|---|---|---|
| Who builds it | You do, in a few messages | Our team, from consultation through build and operation |
| Pricing | Free to start; paid plans run on SU (AI usage unit) | Monthly flat rate, scoped to the work by agreement |
| SU | Deducted from your balance as employees run | Nothing to think about; the flat rate absorbs the cost |
| Scope of work | Anything you want | Defined in the consultation, finalized after a trial period |
| Getting started | Sign up now | Request a consultation |
The managed service is aimed at businesses of 1 to 5 people and supports tax invoices and bank transfer. These docs are written for self-serve. For what changes on a managed service contract (an “Organization usage” screen in place of a SU balance, the contracted duties list, and so on), see the managed service section of SU & Billing.
What about the server?
You don’t need one. No Mac mini running 24/7, no separate cloud VM to rent. UpServe handles hosting, execution, and scheduled runs for you.
- 🖥️ No local machine required: Close your laptop, lose Wi-Fi, the employee keeps running in the cloud
- ⏰ Always-on: A 3 AM scheduled run fires on time, regardless of your device state (on the Free plan, going 7+ days without using your account at all auto-pauses your employees, and scheduled runs stop with them; paid plans and employees in a managed service organization are exempt from this auto-pause)
- 🔧 Zero infra ops: No Docker, Kubernetes, or server patching to worry about
A dedicated AI work computer per employee
Every employee gets an isolated AI work computer as its private workspace, separate from your own computer. Code execution, file operations, and browser automation all happen inside it, so employees never interfere with each other.
| Resource | Details |
|---|---|
| Compute & memory | Dedicated resources sized for employee workloads |
| File storage | Working files persist between turns |
| Network | Internet access enabled |
| Isolation | Per-employee independent environment; employees never interfere |
Inside that environment, the employee can run Python scripts through a shell (and install other runtimes on demand if needed), drive a real browser, and persist working files between turns.
Which models can it use?
UpServe brings together models from Anthropic, OpenAI, and Google in one place. What you choose is not a model but one of two AI performance tiers.
| Tier | Best for |
|---|---|
| Standard | The default. Most employees work here |
| Ultra 💪 | Employees whose results wobble because the work needs deep reasoning or complex analysis |
If you do not pick a tier, Standard is applied. After hiring, you can change the tier anytime: from each employee’s Permissions tab on the web, or still from its Settings screen on the mobile apps. For employees in an organization space, the organization owner or a delegated operator changes it. Both tiers are available on every plan, including Free. Note that Ultra spends far more SU (roughly 10×), so move only the employees that need it.
UpServe decides which AI model backs each tier. You pick the tier; what runs behind it is our job. When a better model ships we swap it in tier by tier, so your employees improve without you changing a setting.
What can you explore next?
Here is a quick look at the major features waiting for you.
| Feature | One-liner | Learn more |
|---|---|---|
| Teams | Group employees by role to split complex work | Build a team |
| Scheduled runs | Set a recurring schedule and the employee runs on its own at the right time | Scheduled runs |
| Public version sharing | Publish a public version (a copy) of your employee as a public link or embeddable widget | Share an employee |
| Skills & templates | Install UpServe’s official employee templates or skills and start using them immediately | Installing skills & templates · Manage skills |
| Mobile apps (iOS & Android) + push notifications | Get an instant phone notification the moment an employee finishes. While it runs, follow along on the iOS Lock Screen and Dynamic Island, or the ongoing notification in the Android shade | Mobile app · Notification settings |
| Human-in-the-Loop | The employee pauses and asks for your approval before taking sensitive actions | Approval system |
| Connections + run conditions | Connect the tools you already use with your account in one step: GitHub, Slack, Notion, Google Drive, Calendar, ERP/CRM systems, and more. Add webhooks and external events as run conditions so employees wake up exactly when needed | Connections · Run conditions |
Next steps
- Core Concepts: Get clear on what AI employees, tools, skills, and teams are
- Hire Your First Employee: Hire one in 5 minutes
- Mobile App: Manage employees from your iPhone or Android phone
- Approvals: How Human-in-the-Loop works
- Managing Your AI Employees: Memory cleanup, pausing, reviewing run costs, and more