ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini are fine for a quick task. Lui is built to run your warehouse jobs.
Connecting an AI to your store or your accounting is easy now. Making it safe to run orders, stock and invoices on is not. Lui does the same steps every time, checks for work before anything runs, stops when something fails, and we keep it running.
Senderoo, a 3PL in Texas, set up its own Friday 7am check: the week's new Shopify SKUs against the warehouse system, emailed when something is missing.
Checked against each vendor's own help and price pages on October 24, 2026
ChatGPT vs Claude vs Gemini for business: which one runs the work?
For writing, research and a quick question about a file, use any of the three. They are good at the work a person does at a keyboard.
For the jobs a warehouse runs every day, on the warehouse system, the store and the accounting, each of the three starts empty. It has no copy of your orders or stock and no idea what your statuses mean, it works its steps out again on every run, and every run is billed whether it finds anything or not. Getting one there safely is a build of 22 to 39 hours by our estimate, then a system somebody on your team keeps running. Lui starts where that build would end.
What it takes to run a warehouse job on each.
One row for each thing a warehouse job needs. The ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini cells come from their own help and price pages.
| What matters | ChatGPT | Claude | Gemini | Lui |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Does the same steps every time | No. A workspace agent works its steps out again from its instructions on every run. | No. Each scheduled task runs as a new session from your prompt. | No. Each run carries out your instructions again. | Yes. A saved job replays the steps you approved, and no model chooses them. |
| A check on your orders or stock that finds nothing | Still a full agent run. OpenAI puts a typical one at 5 to 25 credits, and a check every 15 minutes is about 2,900 runs a month. | Still a full session, from your plan's usage. | Still a full task. | No model runs and nothing is charged. A query over the copy of your data looks first, and the model runs only when it finds work. |
| Starts when a store order or an emailed order arrives | Only through its API, so something like n8n has to watch the store and wake it. Its own event tasks cover Gmail, Slack and GitHub. | No. Scheduled tasks run on a timer: hourly, daily, weekly or on weekdays. | Only for Gmail and news topics, and Google says its monitors are not for time-critical tasks. | Yes, within a minute: a new store order, or an order emailed to your Lui address. |
| Knows what your warehouse system's statuses mean | No. You write the instructions for every status and field, and keep them current. | No. The same instructions, written and kept up by you. | No. Its tasks name Gmail, Calendar and Drive. | Yes, built in. And what you teach it once, everyone on your team's account knows. |
| Bills each client from your own rate card | Only after a build: the warehouse system's charges from its API, your rate card written into the instructions, the QuickBooks app for the invoices, and an agent that works the month out again on every run. | The same build, plus a connector someone hosts for each system without one. | No. A scheduled task needs a personal Google account, and its tasks name Gmail, Calendar and Drive. | Yes. Upload your rate card or describe it. On the first, Lui prices each client's month, puts the invoices in QuickBooks for you to approve, sends them, and tells you who pays late. |
| On a work account, for the whole team | Yes, on Business, priced per person per month. | Yes, on Team, at $28 a person a month billed annually. | No. Tasks need a personal Google account; work accounts are not supported. | One account for the organization, with no charge per person. |
| Someone else keeps it running | No. OpenAI runs ChatGPT; the database, syncs and instructions under it are yours to keep working. | No. The connectors and instructions are yours to keep working. | No. The tasks are yours to keep working. | Yes. We fix what breaks and ship each improvement to every customer. |
| Before the first job runs | A build: 22 to 39 hours by our estimate, for a copy of the data, syncs, the agent's connection, instructions and the jobs. | The same build, plus a connector (a remote server) someone has to host. | Not possible on a work account. | Minutes: connect the system on Settings, say the job, watch it run once. |
Read on October 24, 2026 from the vendors' help and price pages linked below. The build hours are our estimate. Plans and limits change; check them before you decide.
OpenAI: Workspace agentsOpenAI: Business rate cardOpenAI: Scheduled tasks in ChatGPTAnthropic: Schedule recurring tasks in ClaudeAnthropic: Custom connectors using remote MCPClaude pricingGoogle: Create and manage schedules for tasks in Gemini
Building it yourself is a project, then a second job.
Someone on your team does all of this before the first job runs, and then keeps doing it.
In Lui none of this is your job. It is built for every system it connects, and we keep it running.
- 22 to 39 hours before the first job runsA copy of each system's data, the syncs that keep it current, the agent's connection, instructions for every status, and each job tested on real data. Our estimate, for three systems and five jobs.
- Then 1 to 4 hours every monthA sync that stops, an API that changes, a model update that changes an answer, a new client to add.
- A quiet failure means old answersWhen a sync stops and nobody built the alert, the agent keeps answering from data that is days old.
- Every check is a paid runUnless you also build the check outside the agent, every scheduled run spends agent usage, including the ones that find nothing.
- When the builder leaves, so does the knowledgeThe one person who knows how it fits together is the one person who can fix it.
- The time comes out of running the warehouseThe person with the hours to build it is usually the person who should be running the operation.
The real cost is your time: 22 to 39 hours up front, then hours every month.
Our estimate for a 3PL with five office users, a warehouse system, client stores on Shopify, QuickBooks and five jobs running, built and looked after by a consultant at $100 an hour. US dollars, annual billing.
| What matters | Build it yourself on ChatGPT | LogisticsUI |
|---|---|---|
| Your time before the first job runs | 22 to 39 hours | Minutes |
| Your time every month after | 1 to 4 hours | None: we keep it running |
| Building it, once | $2,200 to $3,900 | $0 |
| Running it and keeping it working, every month | $285 to $645 | $250 on Standard, where most warehouses and brands land |
| First year | $5,620 to $11,640 | $3,000 |
| Each year after | $3,420 to $7,740 | $3,000 |
The hours are our estimate for a builder who already knows n8n and Supabase and has an AI assistant write the workflows; nobody publishes hours for this. Your own staff cost less an hour but take longer while they learn the tools, so the build lands near the same. Prices are the vendors' own, read on October 23, 2026.
Here is where the 22 to 39 hours go.
Our estimate, step by step, at $100 an hour. Every line is work someone on your team does before the first job runs.
| What matters | Build it yourself on ChatGPT | LogisticsUI |
|---|---|---|
| Access to each system, and learning how the business works | 2 to 4 hours, $200 to $400 | Connect each system on Settings |
| A copy of the warehouse system's data, and the sync that keeps it current | 4 to 8 hours, $400 to $800 | Already built |
| The same for the store and the accounting | 4 to 6 hours, $400 to $600 | Already built |
| Connecting the agent to the copy | 1 hour, $100 | Built in |
| Instructions: what each table and status means, which client is which | 2 to 4 hours, $200 to $400 | Built in, plus what you teach it |
| Five jobs, each with its trigger, its handled list, its message and a test | 9 to 16 hours, $900 to $1,600 | Asked for in chat |
| Total | 22 to 39 hours, $2,200 to $3,900 | $0 |
Counting the upkeep, it costs more every month than Lui.
The agent's share is priced at OpenAI's published rates for workspace agents. A Business seat includes an allowance first, which OpenAI states only as messages per five hours, so that line starts at $0.
| What matters | Build it yourself on ChatGPT | LogisticsUI |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | $100: ChatGPT Business, 5 seats at $20 | $250: Standard, $333 of usage included, no charge per person |
| Database: Supabase Pro | $25 | Included |
| Syncs and checks: n8n Cloud Pro | $56 | Included |
| Agent runs: about 330 a month | $0 to $60 | Inside the included usage |
| AI steps in n8n: about 200 documents | $4 | Inside the included usage |
| Fixing what breaks: a sync that stops, an API change, a model update | $50 to $200 | We fix it |
| Changes: a new client, a job adjusted | $50 to $200 | Asked for in chat |
| Improvements: newer models, more work from the same usage | Not priced: it stays as built unless someone is paid to improve it | Every customer gets each one |
| Total | $285 to $645 | $250 |
Each extra person adds $20 a month on ChatGPT and nothing on Lui. A floor team on WhatsApp needs another integration to build; in Lui it is included.
Start with the job instead of the build.
$20 of usage free, no card. Connect one system, describe one job, and watch it run once before you save it.
Lui runs the job safely, every time, and nobody on your team maintains it.
Four things a warehouse job needs that a chat product leaves you to build.
- It runs this week, not after a projectConnect the system, say the job in a sentence, watch it run once, save it. Senderoo's team set up their own Friday check by asking, the morning after the feature shipped.
- The same steps every timeA saved job replays the steps you approved, nothing is created until its check passes, and a job that fails stops and says why. Before Lui, Blakeley Designs "tried so many apps" and "one even lost us money by messing up the orders." Drink Distribution fed Lui a broken sheet on purpose; it flagged every bad row and created nothing wrong.
- A quiet check costs nothingA check looks for work with a query first, so one that finds nothing runs no model. Senderoo's urgent-orders check runs every five minutes: 5,630 runs in 30 days, as recorded steps with no model. As a ChatGPT workspace agent that is 5,630 agent runs, about 28,000 to 141,000 credits a month at OpenAI's typical range.
- Nobody on your team keeps it runningWe fix what breaks and ship each improvement to every customer. In October we re-ran the same 13 real customer questions on rebuilt code: they cost 17% less, and the answers right on the first try went from 7 to 12. Since September a failing job pauses itself and says what went wrong, instead of retrying all night.
Do it yourself, have it run for you, or have it built.
Do it yourself
A chat product's agent, plus a database, n8n for the syncs and your own API keys, built and kept working by someone on your team. By our estimate, 22 to 39 hours to build, then 1 to 4 hours every month.
Lui, already running on your systems
Connect your systems on Settings, say the job in plain words, and it runs: the same steps every time, every change from the chat asked first, a failure stopped and explained. We keep it running. Setup as a service if you would rather not do it. Start free →
Custom built
A customer portal, a public order page, a board that follows every job: built on your systems by the team that makes Lui. It suits a job that needs a screen of its own. See the custom work →
Three steps, and nothing to build.
Connect your warehouse system
On Settings, with the steps beside each system. Minutes, not a project.
Say the job in a sentence
"Every Friday at 7am, check this week's new Shopify SKUs against the warehouse and email me what is missing."
Watch it run once, then save it
Lui runs it now so you see the result, then runs it on your schedule, the same steps every time.
“I'm in LogisticsUI as often as I'm in our WMS.”
Senderoo, 3PL warehouse, Wichita Falls, Texas
Questions people ask before they start
Can I just use ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini for this?
For writing, research and a quick question, yes. For a warehouse job that has to run every day, not on its own: each one works its steps out again on every run, bills every run, and needs a copy of your data and instructions that someone builds and keeps working. Lui is that, already running.
ChatGPT connects to Shopify and QuickBooks now. Isn't that enough?
For a question about one store or one set of books, it helps. A warehouse job needs more than a connection: the warehouse system and the store kept current side by side, the same steps every time, a check before anything runs, and someone to fix it when an API changes. That part is the build, and in Lui it is done.
We already pay for ChatGPT. Why add Lui?
Keep it for writing and research. Lui does the warehouse jobs, and it is one account for the organization, so adding a person costs nothing.
How much does it cost to build it on ChatGPT?
By our estimate, 22 to 39 hours of someone's time before the first job runs, for three systems and five jobs, then 1 to 4 hours every month to keep it working. At $100 an hour and with the subscriptions, that is $5,620 to $11,640 in the first year, against $3,000 for Lui on Standard.
How much usage does ChatGPT Business include?
Everyday chat is unlimited. Agent work (workspace agents, ChatGPT Work, Codex and the Office apps) shares one allowance per seat, which OpenAI states only as messages per five hours, the same as Plus, with weekly limits it does not publish. Past it, the workspace buys credits.
Do I need a developer?
Not for Lui: you connect your systems on Settings with the steps beside each one and describe the jobs in plain words. To build it yourself on ChatGPT, yes, or someone who can work like one: the database, the syncs, the agent's connection, and a connector for any system without one.
We tried an AI tool before and it got orders wrong.
That is what the safeguards are for. A saved job does the same approved steps every time, a change from the chat asks first, nothing is created until the check passes, and a job that fails stops and says why.
Who holds the keys to my systems?
Your organization's account. Sign-in systems are connected through their own consent screens; keys you paste are tested once and stored encrypted, never shown again. Disconnecting is one button on Settings.
Can I leave?
Yes. Nothing moves out of your systems: the orders, stock, invoices and jobs stay where they were. Disconnect on Settings and stop.
Is this an AI agent?
It is an assistant that takes actions in your systems, which is what most people mean by an agent. The difference is that a saved job does the steps you approved, the same way every time, instead of deciding again on each run.
Also:For CartonCloudAlerts and workflowsCustom workLogisticsUI