I have had the bright idea of replacing a couple of SaaS I rely on with the assistance of AI. I will note that I do consider a LLMs a genuine productivity boost. Observations:

1) It took a lot longer than I had hoped and I doubt the hours spent are worth the cost savings. Turns out a lot of SaaS I use are actually quite detailed products with lots of features and functionality that take a lot of time and consideration to replicate effectively.

2) Once you finish building that SaaS replacement, you are signing up to operate, maintain and secure it as long as you are running it. More time investment.

My realization is that, yes, AI can help me replace a couple other products I use and some of it is an interesting exercise. But signing up to build and manage a dozen services for my own use that I was previously paying a nominal fee for (in addition to all my other professional commitments) is probably not the utopia I might have thought it was.