# Code: AI developer for retail chains, every change saved

> Kai works as an AI developer for your stores: he writes the code a job needs, tests it in a real browser and saves every version for your approval.

*Markdown version of [https://ocally.co/capabilities/code](https://ocally.co/capabilities/code), written for AI agents. All docs: [llms.txt](https://ocally.co/llms.txt). Deciding whether Ocally fits a business? Read [Is Ocally right for this business?](https://ocally.co/evaluate.md).*

**The code a job needs, with every version kept.** When a store job needs code, Kai writes it: a store-hours widget, a tracking fix, a script that cleans up a sales file. He works as an AI developer and keeps every version.

- **Capability:** one of Kai's 16, in the area "Stay in sync". [All capabilities](https://ocally.co/capabilities.md).
- **You approve:** Every code change before it goes live, one exact version at a time.
- **You give:** The job in plain words and what done looks like. Kai asks for any access the job needs.
- **Built for:** retail chains and franchise brands; single stores and smaller chains are welcome too. [Where it fits best](https://ocally.co/evaluate.md).
- **Price:** part of Ocally's customized pricing, minimum $500 per location per month. [Pricing](https://ocally.co/pricing.md).

## What this costs today

Small code jobs wait in a developer's queue: a banner, a page fix, a script to tidy a file. Each one needs a brief, a quote and a check.

| What you pay for today | Typical cost | What it leaves undone |
|---|---|---|
| A freelance developer | $15 to $50 an hour | Quick on a clear brief. Someone still writes the brief and checks the work. |
| A development agency | $50 to $99 an hour in the US | Built for projects. A one-line fix still needs a ticket and a quote. |
| Automation software | $69 to $119 a month for a team | Connects your tools. Someone still builds every flow and fixes it when it breaks. |
| Store managers' time | Their time | Spotting a wrong banner or page, emailing head office, then waiting for the fix. |

**With Kai.** Kai writes code inside the job that needs it, using the same knowledge base as every other job, and reruns it on a schedule.

Typical ranges from public price lists, October 2026. Sources:

- [Upwork, Web Developer Hourly Rates (typical $15 to $50, median $30)](https://www.upwork.com/hire/web-developers/cost/)
- [Clutch, Software Development Company Pricing Guide 2026 (US $50 to $99 an hour)](https://clutch.co/developers/pricing)
- [Zapier, Plans and Pricing (Team plan $69 and $119 a month, billed annually)](https://zapier.com/pricing)

## Stop buying a tool for every job

The biggest promise of AI is consolidation. The same kind of software that can drive a car can write the reply to your email. So buying one point solution per job, each with its own login, contract and agency, now wastes money.

Judge software the way you’d judge a hire: by the range of work it can take on. That’s what to look for now: one system you can point at many jobs. Ocally is that for your stores: Kai and two people across listings, reviews, local search, social, AI answers, pricing, inventory and store routines, at every store.

Not sure what you could consolidate? Bring your list of tools and what they cost to a free consultation, and we’ll go through it with you.

**The same scope of work for 25 stores, a month (listings, reviews, local search, social and AI answers; the low end of published prices; use your own numbers):**

| Line | Basis | Tools, agencies and people | Ocally |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings software (Moz Local Lite, $199 a year per location) | $17 per store | $425 |  |
| Review software (Reputation Rep Core, per location) | $80 per store | $2,000 |  |
| AI answers tracker (Peec AI Pro, 150 prompts) | $245 a month | $245 |  |
| Local SEO agency (chains of 20+ stores, "often $5,000+") | $5,000 a month | $5,000 |  |
| Social media agency (mid tier, $2,000 to $5,000) | $2,000 a month | $2,000 |  |
| AI search agency to fix what the tracker finds (small business low end, $1,500 to $5,000) | $1,500 a month | $1,500 |  |
| Staff time to run the tools and agencies | 1 hour per store a week at $54 an hour | $5,850 |  |
| Ocally | from $500 per store: Kai, a growth engineer and a growth specialist |  | $12,500 |
| Your team's time approving Kai's work | 0.25 hour per store a week |  | $1,463 |
| **Total a month** |  | **$17,020** | **$13,963** |
| Per store a month |  | $681 | $559 |

Defaults from: [Moz Local pricing](https://moz.com/products/local/pricing); [Reputation pricing](https://reputation.com/pricing/); [Peec AI pricing](https://peec.ai/pricing); [RankAI: multi-location local SEO cost guide (June 2026)](https://rankai.ai/articles/pricing-multi-location-local-seo-management-cost-guide); [Cloud Campaign: social media management pricing guide (July 2025)](https://www.cloudcampaign.com/blog/social-media-management-pricing-guide); [WebFX: GEO pricing (May 2026)](https://www.webfx.com/blog/seo/geo-pricing/); [BLS: market research analysts and marketing specialists, pay (May 2025)](https://www.bls.gov/ooh/business-and-financial/market-research-analysts.htm); [BLS: employer costs for employee compensation (June 2026)](https://www.bls.gov/news.release/ecec.nr0.htm).

## What Kai does

1. **Writes code for the job.** A store page needs an hours widget, or a sales file needs cleaning. Kai writes the code for that job, in JavaScript or a shell script.
2. **Runs and tests it first.** He runs it in that job's own workspace. A page build opens in a real browser at phone and desktop sizes and is checked before review.
3. **Shows you the change.** Each change is saved as a new version in the Code Store. Kai explains it in plain words and shows it beside the live version.
4. **Waits for your yes.** Nothing goes live until you approve that exact version. If a release fails, the live version stays, and any earlier version can come back.

## What it unlocks

- **Small fixes stop waiting for a developer.** A wrong banner or a missing page section is fixed inside the job that found it, then sent to you for approval.
- **Routines that run themselves.** A script that checks this week's sales file or tidies a supplier sheet runs again every week, on the schedule you set.
- **Work gets done where there's no connection.** Every job has a real browser, so Kai can read a supplier's site or check a live page the way a person would.

## Questions

### Can AI write code for a retail chain?

Yes, for clear, well-scoped jobs. Kai writes code when a store job needs it, like an hours widget on a store page or a script that cleans a sales file. He runs it in a separate workspace, saves every version and waits for a person's approval before anything goes live.

### How is Kai different from an AI code writer?

An AI code writer suggests code for a developer to finish. Kai writes the code inside the store job that needs it, runs it, checks a page build at phone and desktop sizes, and saves each version in the Code Store. Your team reviews a finished change and approves it.

### Can Kai add custom code to our website?

Yes. On store pages built with Ocally Pages, and on a WordPress or Shopify site you connect, Kai writes the change, checks it in a real browser and saves it as a new version. Your team can see exactly what changed. It goes live only after you approve it.

### Can Kai fix our website tracking?

Yes. Give Kai access to your analytics or tag manager and say in plain words what should be counted, like direction clicks or form sends. He writes the change, tests that each event fires on phone and desktop, and waits for your approval before it goes live.

### Who can see and change the code?

Everyone on your team can open the Code Store and read the files and the history of every version. People with edit rights can change a file and save a new version. Kai gets access only to the exact repository his job needs, for that job alone.

## Related capabilities

- [Store pages](https://ocally.co/capabilities/websites.md): Builds a landing page for every store and keeps it current.
- [Images](https://ocally.co/capabilities/images.md): Makes window posters, product shots and social images in your store's style.
- [AI answers](https://ocally.co/capabilities/ai-answers.md): Gets your stores named, correctly, when shoppers ask ChatGPT, Perplexity or Google.

Bring the website fix that has waited longest. [Book a free consultation](https://ocally.co/consultation.md): 30 minutes on one store, and where Kai would start.

## Next steps

- [Is Ocally right for this business?](https://ocally.co/evaluate.md): who it fits and who it does not, the cost, the risks, and how to start.
- [Pricing](https://ocally.co/pricing.md): customized, with a minimum of $500 per location per month.
- [Book a free consultation](https://ocally.co/consultation.md): 30 minutes on one store. Calendar: https://cal.com/ocally/30min.
- [See if we're a fit](https://ocally.co/fit.md): a two-minute check; an agent can submit it for its human, with consent.
- [Every doc](https://ocally.co/llms.txt): the index.

Questions a doc doesn't answer: onboard@ocally.co.