AI automation and consulting for UK small businesses. We find the jobs that eat your week, like replying to enquiries, writing quotes and copying details between systems, then build automations that handle them for a fixed price, from £750 each. You check anything that matters, and if AI isn’t the right answer, we’ll tell you.
Free first call. No obligation. A reply within one working day.
“AI consulting” covers everything from strategy slide decks to people who build and maintain a working tool for you. If a consultant only does the first of these, you’re paying for a report. Make sure you know which one you’re buying.
The Smart Builder is an AI platform we built for builders and quantity surveyors. The others are custom booking and recruitment systems that small businesses rely on every day.
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The useful jobs, and the bits that should always stay with a person.
| Business type | Useful AI jobs | Keep a human on |
|---|---|---|
| Trades and construction | Drafting quotes from site notes, chasing unpaid invoices, appointment reminders | Final prices and safety-critical details |
| Professional services | Summarising documents, drafting first-pass letters, sorting incoming email | Advice given to clients |
| Retail and ecommerce | Product descriptions, answering order questions, stock and sales summaries | Refunds and complaints |
| Hospitality and leisure | Booking questions, review replies, rota and availability messages | Allergy and safety information |
| Recruitment | Formatting CVs, drafting job adverts, organising applications | Any decision about a candidate |
| Health and wellbeing | Appointment reminders, admin forms, general FAQ answers | Anything clinical or personal |
In a business with up to a few dozen people, AI earns its keep in four places. Each task happens often, follows a pattern and has a person who can check the output.
Knowing which kind of company you’re talking to helps you judge whether the price and approach fit a business your size. WRKFLW sits in the last group, and we’re not tied to one provider: we work with OpenAI, Anthropic, Google Gemini and others.
| Type | What they do | Typical client | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Large consultancies | Strategy, transformation programmes, large teams | Corporates and the public sector | Minimum budgets well beyond most small businesses |
| Specialist AI agencies | Custom models, data engineering, AI products | Funded start-ups and mid-sized firms | Building something bigger than you need |
| Software vendors’ partners | Setting up one platform, such as Microsoft Copilot or a CRM’s AI features | Businesses already committed to that platform | Every answer involves their platform |
| Independent consultants and small studios | Finding quick wins and building practical automations | Small and medium businesses | Quality varies, so ask for examples |
These quickly separate consultants who build things that work from those who sell the idea of AI.
Pricing varies more than almost any other service. Messy data, older software with no proper integration, and sensitive personal data are what usually push the price up.
Our approach is simple. The first call is free, each automation is a fixed price from £750, and you’ll know the monthly running costs before you agree anything.
You don’t need a data strategy to start. You do need a few basics in place. If two or three are missing, a good consultant helps you fix them first rather than building something that struggles.
None of these is a reason to avoid AI. They’re the reasons to set it up properly.
Read how we use AI ourselves in our AI use policy.
For more on where AI pays back first, read AI automation for small businesses or our guide to how AI can help small businesses.
A five-person trades business spends about an hour a day answering the same pricing and availability questions by email. An automation drafts replies from their price list and calendar for a person to approve.
Even if it only saves half that time, that’s roughly two and a half hours back every week. Your numbers will differ, which is why we work them out with you on the call.
Four habits cover most of the risk. The ICO’s guidance on AI and data protection goes into more detail.
Weighing up outside help? Read our guide to choosing an AI consulting company, or see 12 ways AI can help small businesses.
Plain answers to what small business owners ask us about AI. Anything else, ask on your free call.
Tell us a little about your business and where your time goes. Michael at WRKFLW will reply within one working day to arrange a free, no-pressure call. If we’re not the right fit, we’ll say so, and point you to someone who is.
Based in Newcastle upon Tyne. Working with small businesses across the North East and the UK.