In recent years, we have seen the evolution of Artificial Intelligence (AI) accelerate. Our article on AI hardware demonstrates that the AI computing capacity that required an entire server room just two years ago, is now available in pocket-book-sized hardware. Where AI previously served primarily as an advanced search engine or copywriting assistant, 2026 marks a fundamental shift: AI has been promoted to the boardroom.
For Small and Medium Businesses (SMBs), this marks the end of a decades-long problem: the expensive and restricting dependency on external IT agencies, web developers, SEO agencies, and expensive maintenance contracts.
To demonstrate what is possible today, we highlight a recent AI innovation by ⏻ On Intelligence for Afhaalgroothandel.nl, one of the largest toys wholesalers in the Netherlands. The result? An autonomous, fully capable
AI CTO employee
that provides the company with 100% independence, spectacular cost savings, and limitless technological capabilities.
1 The Problem
The Challenge: The Desire for Independence
The client, a thriving and internationally operating Dutch toys wholesaler founded in 1992, runs on a highly optimized, custom-built CMS on Google Cloud infrastructure. As is the case with many successful businesses, their technology stack had grown increasingly complex over the years. Managing the Google Cloud servers, MySQL databases, and executing software and SEO upgrades required the constant involvement of specialized — and therefore expensive — human IT and SEO personnel.
When the company Optimalisatie.nl closed due to circumstances, CEO Barry Kloppenburg faced a dilemma: How do we guarantee our online continuity for the coming decades without investing tens of thousands of euros in a new development team that needs months to understand our legacy systems?
The answer from ⏻ On Intelligence, the successor of Optimalisatie.nl, was simple: we automate the entire technical executive function.
2 The AI CTO
The Solution: CTO Employee via Email
Instead of hiring a new software agency, the wholesaler was provided with a fully capable AI CTO. Themed after the iconic AI from the TV series Knight Rider, this virtual employee—named K.I.T.T.
—provides the company with literally unlimited technical capabilities by its ability to upgrade itself with new features as needed, while the AI technology itself is also gradually updated to Google's most powerful AI model at any given time.
What makes this system brilliant for business owners is its interface. There are no complex IT dashboards, ticking ticket systems, or programming languages to learn. The CEO communicates with his AI CTO in the exact same way he previously communicated with his human lead developer: via email. The AI sales chat also communicates with the CEO via the same email interface while the AI CTO can optionally provide oversight to help manage more complex customer support cases. This enables the CEO to efficiently provide service to customers in over 70+ languages with optimal quality.
The CEO, a lifelong fan of Knight Rider, privately drives a black 2024 Chevrolet Camaro that strongly resembles the 1982 Pontiac Firebird from the TV series. The K.I.T.T. theme and personality are deeply embedded into the system. As a result, the AI CTO functions authentically as the real 1982 K.I.T.T. from Knight Rider, fully dedicated to protecting and improving the business.
A Practical Example: Migrating to a New Payment System
With the upcoming European upgrade from iDeal to the new WERO payment system, many webshops are facing substantial development costs (estimated between €5,000 and €15,000 for custom integrations).
With the new AI CTO, this process changes fundamentally. The CEO simply sends an email to the AI CTO, attaches the technical PDF documentation provided by the bank, and asks: What is required for us to upgrade our system to WERO?
The AI CTO analyzes the technical documentation, autonomously inspects the current codebase, drafts a plan, discusses it with the CEO for authentication, and upon approval, programs the integration, tests it thoroughly, deploys it and ensures efficient long-term management. All at a professional level, and at a fraction of the cost.
3 Commerce
Front-end Management: AI Sales Agent in 70+ Languages
The AI's capabilities are not limited to the backend of the business. To maximize conversion and customer relationship management, a cutting edge AI Sales Agent is integrated into the system.
The AI controls real-time order statuses, manages the shopping cart, updates customer details, processes customer registrations, solves problems and much more.
Seamless Human Handoff via Email
When the AI chat encounters a complex customer inquiry it cannot resolve autonomously, it seamlessly routes the question to the CEO via email. The CEO communicates with the AI sales agent in Dutch. The AI translates the CEO's feedback into efficient customer service for clients in over 70 languages (e.g., responding in fluent German, Italian, or Japanese). This allows the business to serve clients globally with optimal quality and conversion rates.
The Lucky Dip
Integration
For this specific wholesaler, the AI can trigger a virtual lucky dip dice
animation in the chat, surprising the customer with a random item from the 50,000+ product warehouse. Additionally, the chat agent can seamlessly switch to the K.I.T.T. persona to inspire and advise customers.
4 ROI
The Business Case
The financial impact of replacing traditional IT and SEO agency dependency with an AI CTO is profound. For this specific mid-sized wholesaler, the 10-year projection is clear:
This isn't just about saving on hourly development rates. The AI CTO eliminates SLA retainers, emergency weekend bug-fix fees, project management overhead, and the latency of waiting weeks or months for an agency to schedule and deliver your upgrades.
Review by Barry, CEO of Afhaalgroothandel.nl
Optimalisatie.nl has made itself obsolete with the AI CTO upgrade, allowing us to save massive costs in the long term while having access to the latest possibilities of artificial intelligence. The complete server and CMS management is now fully automated, and even complex technical upgrades are now automatically realizable without technical knowledge and at virtually no cost.
5 The Future
Limitless Capabilities: Self-control of Technological Evolution
Perhaps the most valuable aspect of an AI CTO is not the initial cost savings, but the removal of thresholds for technological evolution.
Imagine the company decides to purchase physical warehouse robots three years from now to automate management of their +50,000 in-stock products. Normally, integration into the CMS would entail a lengthy IT trajectory with external consultants, starting at €50,000 in direct costs plus hefty ongoing maintenance contracts.
With the AI CTO, the CEO simply forwards the documentation (PDFs) from the robot manufacturer via email. They discuss, brainstorm and plan the implementation identical to a conversation with a human CTO. The CEO receives a system exactly as he likes and can also change and upgrade it at any time. The AI CTO proactively plans, considers long-term maintenance and cost-efficiency, and upon approval, programs, connects, and manages the new infrastructure. Every desired upgrade to increase revenue is now literally at the CEO's fingertips at almost no cost.