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How Cisco president Jeetu Patel used AI to cut subscription costs
When Patel first gave a personal AI agent access to his email, it told him: “Hey, you’ve got $9,000 worth of subscriptions that you subscribe to per year. Are you sure you want all of these? It seems like a lot of subscriptions.”
Patel then asked the agent to prepare a table of his subscriptions, their costs and how long he had held them. After reviewing the list, he selected two subscriptions for cancellation. The agent cancelled them and sent confirmation emails.
Reflecting on the process, Patel said: “I’m like, OK, that was kind of creepy how easy it was to do that.”
He said the cancellations saved him $1,000 to $1,200 a year, more than covering the agent’s $20 monthly cost. The agent also identified an accidental $11.95 Dropbox subscription that duplicated a plan he already had.
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Beyond managing subscriptions, Patel uses four or five personal AI agents for everyday tasks. He said the tools help him consolidate news, summarise earnings calls and even book concert tickets for his daughter.
He also explained that he rarely starts a task without asking an AI agent to do a “recon job” and provide research and context. This shows how personal AI agents can do more than answer questions, helping users organise information and carry out tasks.
How you can use an AI agent to find forgotten subscriptions
If your chosen AI tool supports email access, ask it to identify subscription receipts and create a list of service names, payment amounts and available billing history.
Before cancelling anything, verify the details against your bank statements or payment records. Check whether you still use the service and whether cancellation could affect other benefits.
Consider the privacy risks, too. Patel advises against giving personal AI agents access to sensitive workplace resources. He keeps his personal agents separate from work email and calendars, using Cisco’s internal agent for work tasks.
AI can help identify unnecessary spending, but give an agent only the permissions it needs and review its findings before approving cancellations. Stay in control of your data and financial decisions.