The Automations Wall
A big screen shows today’s Upcoming, Running now and Completed automations. Step up to the tablet to take a closer look at any run.
AI agents for startups, organised around your work
ShiftHands lets you organise AI agents around the work of running a startup. Give separate agents research, content, product and recurring tasks, then review their progress in one workspace. The agents run on your own Apple-silicon Mac, and you can check their work, chat and answer flagged commands from your phone browser.
ShiftHands is a Mac app for running and supervising a team of AI agents. The agents run on your own Apple-silicon Mac; you can monitor their work, chat with them and respond to flagged command approvals from the Mac app or a desktop or phone browser.
What can AI agents do for a startup?
Hand each agent one clear job and the material it needs. Every task ends with something you can read and check.
Market and competitor research
On demand“Review these five competitors and summarise positioning, pricing and gaps, with sources.”
Output: A research brief with source links.
Product development
On demand“Review this repository and draft a plan for fixing these three reported bugs.”
Output: Proposed changes, plus code or test output where its tools allow.
SEO and content
Weekly“Review these pages and prepare a content-refresh brief for next week.”
Output: An editorial brief with suggested priorities.
Customer-support preparation
On demand“Review these support questions and draft replies without sending them.”
Output: Draft answers for you to review.
Weekly operations
Every Monday“Every Monday, review these project notes and prepare a summary of open tasks and blockers.”
Output: A scheduled result card in the project agent’s chat.
These are illustrative setups, not evidence of tested startup outcomes. Agents can only use the information, files and tools you give them.
For search work, see AI agents for SEO. For posts, see the AI agent for social media guide.
See it working
See a startup AI agent team working
This is the real ShiftHands app with demo data. Open a chat to see an agent working through a task, or the Automations tab for scheduled runs and their result cards.
Recorded in the ShiftHands demo workspace.
Virtual Environment
Your AI team, in a 3D office.
Every ShiftHands plan, Free included, comes with the Virtual Environment: a 3D office in the app where your agents work at their desks, grouped by project. Walk over, pull up a chair, and watch your crew get it done.
Your boss desk
Sit down to see every project and every agent at a glance, and chat with anyone without leaving your chair.
Watch your agents work
Every agent has a desk in its project area. Agents running an automation head to the Automations room. Walk up to any agent and chat.
- Free and Pro
- No extra AI usage for the 3D view
- Mac app and web, including phone browsers
Rendered in the ShiftHands demo workspace with made-up names. Open the Virtual Environment from the sidebar or from Chief of Staff in the app. Agents still run on your Mac and use your connected AI accounts.
Agent team
Build an AI agent team around your startup
Create agents for the jobs you repeat. Name them however you like; ShiftHands has no prebuilt founder roles. Here is one example team.
Research Assistant
ExampleMarket and competitor investigation.
Shows: Source-backed research in chat.
Product Assistant
ExampleCode and product tasks.
Shows: Project files or reviewable changes.
Content Assistant
ExampleSEO briefs and draft copy.
Shows: Draft output and a scheduled result card.
Operations Assistant
ExampleRecurring checks and summaries.
Shows: Automation status and result history.
Example startup agent team in the ShiftHands demo workspace. Free supports one project and three agents; larger setups require Pro and remain subject to fair use, AI-provider limits and Mac capacity.
- Each agent keeps its own chat, history and model.
- You see every agent’s status in one workspace.
- Give one agent a big job and it can split it across named helpers running in parallel.
- Free allows up to 2 helpers per launch; Pro has no plan cap.
- Agents don’t set goals or run departments on their own. You direct the work.
Want one screen for every agent’s status? See the ShiftHands AI agent dashboard.
Projects
Organise startup work by project
A project groups related agents, such as everything for one product or one launch. Agents are the workers inside it.
Free includes one project and three agents. Pro removes the plan-level caps on projects and agents; fair use still applies.
- Start with one project for your startup and add agents as jobs prove useful.
- Unread replies and running automations are counted per project.
- Pick each agent’s model and permissions separately.
Automations
Schedule the work you repeat every week
Attach a schedule to an agent for daily reports, weekly summaries or recurring checks. Each run posts a result card in the agent’s chat.
- Free: 2 automations, each at most once a day.
- Pro: hourly and every-few-hours schedules, no plan cap on automations.
- The automations view lists upcoming, running and finished runs.
- Automation runs never count toward the Free message allowance.
- Your Mac must stay on with ShiftHands open for runs to happen on time.
Setting up your first recurring job? Learn how to schedule AI agent tasks.
Review and approvals
Review work and handle decisions yourself
ShiftHands helps you review what your agents produce, but it does not enforce a universal founder-approval step before every action. Commands flagged under an agent’s settings wait for Allow once or Deny. Other actions may proceed without a prompt. For customer-facing messages, payments or publishing, use draft-only tasks and review the result before making the final decision.
- Read each agent’s output in its chat, then decide what happens next.
- A flagged command shows what will run and waits for Allow once or Deny.
- Typing “yes” in chat never counts as approval.
- Browser sign-ins are your step: Take control, sign in, then Return to agent.
An approval card from the ShiftHands demo workspace, with made-up names.
Away from your desk? You can manage AI agents from your phone browser while the Mac does the work.
Set up your first startup AI agent team
Six steps. Start with one project and one task before adding more agents.
1. Install ShiftHands
Use an Apple-silicon Mac. See where ShiftHands agents run.
2. Connect a model
Sign in with Claude or ChatGPT, or add an API key.
3. Create one project
Name it after your startup or product.
4. Add a Research Assistant
Give it one narrowly defined task.
5. Review the result
Check the output and the agent’s permissions.
6. Add the next role
Then a daily or weekly automation, once the first workflow is useful.
Browser work needs Ego Lite, a free agent browser from Citro Labs. It’s a separate macOS download.
Which startup tools does ShiftHands include?
ShiftHands is a workspace for agents, not a business software suite. Here is what is and isn’t in the box.
Included
- Agents with their own chats, histories and models.
- Projects to group agents by product or job.
- Scheduled agent runs with result cards in chat.
- A live agent browser on your Mac (with Ego Lite).
- Flagged-command approvals with Allow once or Deny.
- Phone and desktop browser access to check on agents.
Not included
- A CRM or sales pipeline.
- Built-in Slack, Stripe, helpdesk or social connections.
- Analytics, revenue dashboards or billing tools.
- Prebuilt founder roles or a one-click team template.
- A guaranteed approval step before every action.
Startup agent pricing and usage limits
Your ShiftHands plan sets the limits. AI usage runs on the account you connect.
Free, $0
25 messages a day, 1 project, 3 agents and 2 automations that run at most once a day.
Pro, $49.99 a month or $499 a year
No plan-level cap on messages, projects, agents or automations; fair use applies. Adds hourly and every-few-hours schedules.
Model usage
Your connected provider’s pricing and limits apply. ShiftHands doesn’t sell model credits.
Your Mac
Agents need an Apple-silicon Mac that stays on with ShiftHands open. Bigger teams need more Mac capacity.
Browser work depends on Ego Lite and on the sites your agents use. Full details: ShiftHands pricing.
Who should use AI agents for a startup?
It suits founders who want help with repeat work and are happy to direct and check it.
A good fit if
- You’re a solo founder or a small technical or operations team.
- You repeat research, content, product or reporting tasks every week.
- You want each job in its own agent chat, with results in one place.
- You have an Apple-silicon Mac that can stay on.
Look elsewhere if
- You want an AI co-founder that sets strategy or decides for you.
- You need a CRM, helpdesk or billing tool with AI built in.
- You need every action approved before it runs, with no exceptions.
- You only have Windows or an Intel Mac, or want a cloud-hosted team.
Frequently asked questions
What roles can my startup’s agents have?
Any you define. You name each agent and give it instructions, such as research, product, content or operations. There are no prebuilt roles.
Can the agents run my startup on their own?
No. They carry out the tasks you give them and report back. You set the goals and make the business decisions.
How much does it cost?
Free is $0 with 1 project, 3 agents and 25 messages a day. Pro is $49.99 a month or $499 a year. Your AI provider’s pricing applies on top.
Does every action wait for my approval?
No. Flagged commands wait for Allow once or Deny, depending on each agent’s settings. For messages, payments or publishing, keep tasks draft-only and review first.
Does it connect to Slack, Stripe or my CRM?
Not natively. Agents work with the files and information you supply, and with sites they can use in their browser after you sign in.
Where do the agents run?
On your own Apple-silicon Mac, which must stay on with ShiftHands open. Your connected AI provider handles the model. There is no native phone app; you check in from a phone browser.
Will it replace my team or grow revenue?
We don’t promise either. It helps you hand off repeat work; results depend on your tasks and review.
Start free with one startup project
Download the Mac app, create a project and give one agent a task you can review in chat.
Needs an Apple-silicon Mac (M1 or newer) with macOS 13 or later.
Screens and video come from the ShiftHands demo workspace with made-up names. Features and prices were checked on October 30, 2026 and can change.