AI consulting services
AI consulting for small businesses.
You keep hearing that AI will change your business. As your AI consultant, we find the one or two places where that is true, set it up properly, and show your team how to use it.
What a small business AI consultant does
An AI consultant for a business without an IT department.
Most small businesses do not need an AI strategy document. They need someone who knows the tools to look at how the work gets done, say where AI would help, say where it would not, and then do the setting up.
That is the job. We work with small businesses and SMBs as an AI consultant for one project, or as an AI advisor you can call on as things change. Either way we begin with the work in front of you, not with a product.
Looking for an AI consultant in DC, Maryland or Virginia?Our AI consulting services
Five things we do as your AI consultant.
Find where AI is worth it
We look at the tasks that eat your week: answering the same questions, writing quotes, chasing follow-ups, finding information. Some are a good fit for AI. Some need a better form or a setting in software you already own. We tell you which is which.
Choose, set up and implement the tools
ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Copilot and the AI features inside the software you already pay for. We compare them against your work, not a feature list, then implement the one that fits, with your business information in it.
Build the AI solution only when it is needed
When an off-the-shelf tool is not enough, we build it: an AI assistant, an agent, or business automation that connects your tools. It gets clear limits, and it stops and asks a person before anything important goes out.
Train the people who will use it
We sit with your team and practice on their real tasks until they can run it without us. They leave with examples they can reuse and a short checklist for checking what the AI produces.
Keep your information safe
We come from a cybersecurity background. We check which tools train on your conversations, who has access to what, and what should never be pasted into an AI tool, then write it down in a one-page policy your team will read.
AI strategy consulting
AI strategy for a small business fits on one page.
A working AI strategy for a small business answers four questions. Which tasks will we use AI for first? Which tools are approved? What information stays out of them? Who checks the results?
We help you answer those, in writing, and we come back to it as the tools change. It is a working document for the owner, not a slide deck.
See the security checklist it builds onOur AI plan, on one page
- 1Which tasks we use AI for first
- 2Which tools are approved
- 3What never goes into them
- 4Who checks the results
How it runs
From a first conversation to a team that uses it.
- 1
A conversation about the work
You tell us what happens now and what you wish took less time. No technical brief needed.
- 2
A short look at one or two tasks
We watch how the task is done today, look at the tools you have, and tell you plainly whether AI is the right fix.
- 3
A small trial on real work
We set up or build the smallest version that could help and test it on real examples, including the awkward ones.
- 4
Hand over and train
Accounts stay in your name. We write down how it works, train the people using it, and agree who looks after it.
See it
What this looks like in practice.
An assistant that answers from your own documents
A researcher's site answers questions from his published papers and shows the source. A notary's site answers service questions at any hour, then takes the visitor's details for a person to follow up.
An agent that prepares the work and waits for you
A follow-up is drafted, the record is updated, and nothing is sent until a person has read it and said yes.
Voice AI for conversations
A practice room where people rehearse a difficult conversation by voice and get written feedback. The same approach suits staff onboarding and customer-service practice.
Questions owners ask
Before you hire an AI consultant.
Do I need an AI consultant, or just a ChatGPT subscription?
Often the subscription is the right start, and we will say so. A consultant earns the fee when the tool needs your business information in it, when several people need to use it the same way, when it has to connect to other software, or when you are unsure what is safe to put into it.
How much do AI consulting services cost for a small business?
It depends on the task, so we agree the scope and the price in writing before any work starts. Most engagements begin small to keep it affordable: one task, a short trial, then a decision about whether to go further.
What is the difference between an AI consultant and an AI agency?
Mostly size and what happens after the advice. We are a small studio, so the person who advises you also sets up the tools, builds what is needed and trains your team. You are not handed a report and left to find someone to carry it out.
Is our data safe when we use AI tools?
It can be, if the tools are set up deliberately. Many consumer AI plans use your conversations to improve their models unless you turn that off, and a paid personal plan is not the same as a business plan. Checking this is part of every engagement.
Will AI replace my staff?
That is not what we set up. The work we do takes the repetitive parts of a job, such as first drafts, lookups and follow-ups, and leaves the judgment and the customer relationship with your people.
Which AI tools do you work with?
We are not tied to a vendor. We work with the main assistants, the AI features inside common business software, and custom builds when those are not enough. The recommendation follows the task.
Do you work with SMBs and startups, or only very small businesses?
Both. Most of our clients are owner-run businesses and small teams, and we also work with growing SMBs and startups. We work by video call and shared documents, and because we are based in the Washington, DC area, clients in DC, Maryland and Northern Virginia can add an on-site visit to a project when the work calls for it.
Do you also build websites and apps?
Yes. Many AI projects end up needing a better website, an inquiry form or a small app around them, and we build those too.
Read first
Guides for owners thinking about AI.
- AI Audit for Small Business: A 15-Minute ChecklistAn AI audit checklist and worksheet template for small businesses. Score five parts of your business in 15 minutes and see what to fix first.
- AI Security Checklist for Small Business: 10 StepsA 10-step AI security checklist for companies with no IT team, including where to switch off ChatGPT's "Improve the model for everyone" data control.
- Build an AI Assistant That Knows Your BusinessBuild an AI assistant in a ChatGPT or Claude project or a Gemini notebook: where to click, what it costs, a worked example to copy and a business context file to reuse.
Start with what you need.
What would make your work easier?
Tell us what you want to change: a website that answers the question people keep asking, less follow-up to chase, or more use out of a tool you already pay for. We will work out a first step.
Tell us what you need