The 1% in AI Review (2026): Albert Shiney’s AI Automation Agency Model? + Alternatives

In this The 1% in AI review:

I explain Albert Shiney’s AI automation agency model.
I include third-party online reviews so you don't have to look further.
You get a sneak peek of what’s inside The 1% in AI, like the 12-module training and weekly group coaching calls.
You'll learn about The 1% in AI 90-Day 1-to-1 Program and what it offers.
I tell you who Albert Shiney is and analyze his $50K a month AI automation agency claim.
I compare the AI automation model with my rank and rent SEO model.

In my opinion, the AI automation agency model that The 1% in AI teaches is like a Broadway show. You are paying for the theater rent, cast and crew, and marketing for months before you sell a single ticket. New productions will not find much audience interest as no one knows if they can deliver a great show. It’s like how the wineries in Napa Valley didn’t get their reputation overnight. It took years of cultivating vines and endless tastings before they became a trusted name.

Public Review Sentiment

Sentiment is based on public reviews, discussions, and independent analysis available at the time of publication. Percentages reflect identified positive, negative, and neutral sentiment by platform.

Reddit (2 reviews)

Promotional, limited evidence

Positive: “The program provides structure, systems, templates, mentorship, and accountability for building AI automation agencies.”

Trustpilot (5 reviews)

Mixed Credibility, Potentially Manipulated

Positive: “I completed the 7-day AI agency course — and it exceeded expectations. Each day delivered clear, actionable value.”

Negative: “Not responsive. They use bots acting like they care about your progress through private chat but they actually don’t.”

What Are the Pros and Cons of The 1% in AI?

Pros	Cons
The 1% in AI pays for your GHL subscription.	The 1% in AI Standard membership only unlocks 1 module per month.
It gives you 30-days of free access to the BuildMyAgent tool.	It lacks training on advanced client acquisition strategies.
Albert Shiney has been operating his AI automation agency, Shiney.ai, since 2022.	The AI automation agency model it teaches involves a lot of operating costs.

💰 Price: The 1% in AI costs $97 a month for the Standard membership and $699 a year for the Premium membership.

💸 Refund Policy: The 1% in AI refunds 1 month each for completing its 30-day and 90-day challenges.

🗓️ Origin: Albert Shiney founded The 1% in AI in 2024.

How Does The 1% in AI’s AI Automation Agency Model Work?

Build custom AI agents, automated workflows, and marketing and CRM systems for local businesses. Don’t sell cheap one-off tasks.
Use tools like n8n, Make.com, GoHighLevel (GHL), Claude Code, and BuildMyAgent.
Create apps and AI solutions with vibe coding and natural-language instructions.
Find clients through cold email, paid ads, organic content, and Upwork.
Charge $1,500 to $3,000 a month to implement and maintain these AI agents and systems.
Hire outreach specialists, automation builders, and account managers once you’re ready to scale to $50,000 a month.

The 1% in AI's AI automation agency model requires a lot of hands-on work. First, you handle the technical work through vibe coding. This creates a steep learning curve. You also customize AI agents, workflows, systems, apps, and solutions for each client. So every project requires a different setup and approach. What’s more, you must ensure everything runs smoothly for everyone.

What Do You Get With The 1% in AI?

12 modules on building an AI automation agency.
Free GoHighLevel account.
30-day free trial for BuildMyAgent.
Over $3 million worth of software credits.
Discounts on recommended tools.
The 30-Day AI Challenge.
The 90-Day Client & Sales Challenge.
Access to The 1% in AI Skool community.
Weekly group coaching calls with the Standard or 2 calls per week with the Premium memberships.
Private WhatsApp group and priority support with the Premium membership.

What Do The 1% in AI 12 Modules Cover?

Claude Code Masterclass: Using Claude to code AI.
Automation: Building backend workflows using n8n and Make.
GoHighLevel: Setting up client CRMs, funnels, and communication channels.
Cold Email: Setting up outreach domains and running email campaigns.
Organic Content: Generating inbound leads through social platforms.
Paid Ads: Running ads to attract clients.
Vibe Coding: Developing products with natural-language AI coding prompts.
Upwork: Bidding for and landing freelance and agency contracts.
Sales: Closing deals, handling objections, and using pitch frameworks.
AI Agents: Designing autonomous and conversational AI systems.
Systems: Creating SOPs and agency workflows.
Scaling: Hiring teams and improving client retention.

What Are The 1% in AI’s 30-Day and 90-Day Challenges?

The 1% in AI’s 30-Day and 90-Day Challenges are two phases that take you from building AI solutions to landing agency clients. These challenges encourage you to stay active and complete the training.

The 30-Day Challenge focuses on the technical side of the business. If you complete all 30 days and show proof, you get a full refund of your first $97 monthly fee.

The 90-Day Challenge shifts to client acquisition. You find, pitch, and close AI automation agency clients. If you complete the challenge and show proof, you receive another month's fee as a refund.

Is The 1% in AI Worth the Price?

I think The 1% in AI is worth the price if you take the Premium membership to get immediate access to the entire 12-module training. The problem with the Standard memberships is you’ll be forced to wait and pay another month to unlock the next module. The Premium membership lets you finish the training and start building your agency faster.

What Is The 1% in AI 90-Day 1-to-1 Program?

The 1% in AI 90-day 1-to-1 program is a coaching is a direct mentorship by Albert Olgaard (Shiney) and Oliver Rasmussen. The mentorship offers the following:

Private coaching calls with Albert Olgaard and Oliver Rasmussen where they provide support for:

Choosing your niche and offer.
Cold calls, emails, and DM.
Closing clients.
Automating your agency.
Ad campaigns.
Direct WhatsApp support.
Lifetime access to The 1% community.

The 90-Day 1-to-1 Program does not display its pricing. However, it is stated that you need to have $2,000 to invest. It comes with a guarantee that you get continued support after 90-days if you haven’t landed a client yet. You also need to complete 90% of the steps and attend 90% of the calls to qualify.

Who Is Albert Shiney?

Albert Shiney (or Albert Olgaard) is an AI agency owner, content creator, and educator. He owns Shiney.AI, which claims 300+ appointments, $700,000+ collected, and 30+ deals closed in one month. He created two Skool communities, AI Automation (A-Z) and The 1% in AI. AI Automation (A-Z) is a free community with over 164K members. The 1% in AI is his flagship program for starting and growing an AI automation agency.

Albert Shiney also publishes free AI business and automation tutorials on social media. He has 319K Instagram followers, 79K+ YouTube subscribers, and 9K TikTok followers. He uses his real name, Albert Olgaard, across his social media platforms.

What Is Albert Shiney’s AI Automation Agency Claim?

Albert Shiney’s Claim

Albert Shiney claims that his program can teach you how to start and grow an AI business to $50,000 a month. He claims that his systems, scripts, and templates help you land your first paying client in 7-30 days.

Can an AI Automation Agency Make $50K a Month?

An AI automation agency can make $50K a month with enough clients. Mintec reports that a solo AI automation agency can earn $8K to $15K with 5 to 10 clients. You need 17 to 63 clients to make $50K a month. Managing this many clients is impossible as a solo agency. Nicherly says that solo agencies typically start to experience management issues with 5 to 7 clients. You need to outsource management at an additional cost to handle high client numbers.

Finding clients as a new AI automation agency is a major challenge. You'll be doing a lot of outreach and negotiations. Having a stable monthly income means client retention which is its own challenge. Here are some reasons AI automation agencies struggle with client retention:

The invisible trap - When an automation works well, it runs quietly in the background. After 2-3 months, a business owner may forget how much manual work the system replaced. The monthly retainer can then start to feel like an unnecessary expense.
No clear ROI - Clients may cancel if you don’t show clear ROI through regular performance reports.
Cheaper options - Clients may hire in-house employees or freelancers at a lower cost.

Final Verdict: Does The 1% in AI Teach a Highly Profitable Agency Model?

The 1% in AI does not teach a highly profitable agency model because of the high operating costs. Automaton Agency estimates that the average profit margin for AI automation agencies is 20% to 35%. The typical costs of an AI automation agency include:

Automation tool subscriptions like:
- n8n
- Make
- Zapier
AI and data usage:
- Model API calls
- Voice services
- Databases
- Vector search
- Data storage
Hosting or VPS.
Data backups.
Business software like:
- CRM
- Email
- Calendar
- Project management and reporting tools
Client acquisition.
Payment processing.
Bookkeeping.
Tax preparation.
Insurance.

For this example, a 1-person AI automation agency could spend $430 to $512 a month on the tools. AI and data usage depend on the uses. You could be spending an additional $50 to $117 a month with 5 to 10 clients. Then there’s marketing, administration, and outsourcing costs. That could be an additional $2,530 a month. For our example, an AI automation agency with 5 to 10 clients that outsources development and QA spends $3,010 to $3,159 a month.

The example I gave is on the optimistic side. In reality, you’re likely to spend more on marketing and outsourcing. You also need to invest in client retention as losing just 1 client can drop your income significantly. I prefer rank and rent SEO because of its lower costs and because clients are motivated to work with you.

How Does The 1% in AI Compare to AI Agent Bootcamp?

The 1% in AI is better for focusing on building AI agents and workflows. AI Agent Bootcamp focuses more on building multi-agent systems. The 1% in AI also covers client acquisition, while AI Agent Bootcamp barely touches it.

How Does The 1% in AI Compare to Autoploy Academy?

The 1% in AI is better for building AI agents to sell as recurring services to local businesses. Autoploy Academy is better for building custom AI systems to sell as 1-time projects.

How Does The 1% in AI Compare to AI Automation Society Plus?

The 1% in AI is better for learning the technical and business sides of running an AI automation agency. AI Automation Society Plus is better for focusing on the technical fulfillment aspect.

How Does an AI Automation Agency Compare to Rank and Rent SEO in Profitability?

An AI automation agency is significantly less profitable than rank and rent SEO. The average profit margin of an AI automation agency is 20% to 35% compared to 90% to 95% in rank and rent SEO. A big chunk of an AI automation agency’s spending goes to marketing and outsourcing. With rank and rent SEO, you mostly just spend for call tracking and web hosting.

An AI automation agency’s income is tied to how many clients you can sign up and retain. The fewer clients you have, the lower your profit margin. With rank and rent SEO, your income is tied to the website that you own. You are like the landlord who charges rent for the use of the asset.

In my opinion, comparing an AI automation agency to rank and rent SEO is like a SoulCycle studio versus a Verizon cell tower. A SoulCycle studio has to first rent a prime location, get premium bikes, and hire the best instructors. It only earns if riders keep signing up and renewing their memberships. A slow season can wipe out the margins. That mirrors the high costs of an AI automation agency and its reliance on client numbers and retention for income. A Verizon tower you rent every month without you doing anything. Verizon will want to keep paying you because their customers need that tower to make calls. Similarly, local service businesses rely on your ranked sites to get jobs. They’re happy to pay you monthly while you only spend a tiny fraction of that to maintain your sites.

How Does Rank and Rent SEO Create Passive Income?

Rank and rent SEO creates passive income because your site generates leads without your daily input. You build a site that targets local service niches like plumbing or roofing. You rank it on Google using free SEO tactics. Once ranked, it will passively attract traffic consistently. You have the choice to qualify the leads or send them as is.

An AI automation agency’s income is also limited by your time. MindStudio estimates that an AI automation agency spends 2 to 5 hours a month per client for reporting and addressing issues. Webalize estimates an additional 10 hours a month per client for maintenance and monitoring. That’s 60 to 150 hours a month for 5 to 10 clients. You may need to outsource client management if you want to add more clients. That estimate doesn’t even include the time you’ll spend on testing and managing marketing campaigns.

rank and rent seo

In contrast, each rank and rent SEO site does not add additional daily workload. For example, I spent 25 hours building a website for my client, Pasadena Elite Drywall, (626) 995-2924, https://www.pasadenadrywalls.com/. I rarely touch this site anymore, and it still keeps generating 6 to 8 qualified leads per month. In 1 month, my client closed $45,000 worth of jobs from my leads. I got $4,500 from 10% commission.

Rank and rent SEO takes more effort at the beginning but works virtually hands-free once it's up and running. Check out rank and rent SEO to learn how to create passive income with high profit margins.