AI consultant for small businesses: Start with the task. Then decide whether AI helps.
I help founders and small teams take one piece of repeated work, test whether AI makes it faster or more consistent, and keep a method they can run themselves. No new platform to learn, no custom software and no promise that AI is the answer to everything.
Get a free 20-minute callYou use AI most days. Your workload hasn't changed much.
That's the most common starting point I hear. The tools are open in a tab, the results are hit and miss, and nobody has had time to work out which job they should actually take on. AI for a small business works best on a specific, repeated task with clear inputs and someone who checks the result.
I'm not a developer and I don't sell automation builds. I've spent nearly a decade working out what a business should do first in search and on its website, and I bring the same habit to AI: understand the work, find the part that matters, change that.
What practical AI help looks like
One task, one working session or a short project, and a clear handover.
- 01 Pick one taskSomething your business does every week that takes too long, gets done differently each time or depends on one person's memory.
- 02 Watch how it happens nowWhere the information comes from, who decides what, and what a good result looks like. This is where most of the useful answers turn up.
- 03 Try it on real workWe test an AI-assisted version on a real example, or a safe copy of one, using tools you already have where possible.
- 04 Hand it overYou get a short written method: what goes in, what comes out, what a person must check and what to do when it goes wrong. The accounts stay in your name.
Tasks that often suit AI in a small business
- Turning your own material (calls, videos, notes, past emails) into first drafts in your voice
- Summarising a recurring report into a short list of decisions and who owns them
- Research and checking steps in content or marketing work, with a clear review stage
- Answering the same customer questions more consistently, with a person approving what goes out
And where it usually doesn't
Decisions that need your judgement, anything sent to customers without a person reading it first, and problems that are really about a messy process or the wrong software. AI tends to make an unclear process faster, not better.
That's why the first conversation is about the work. With Mike Fairclough Massage, a chat about AI showed the real problem was bookings arriving in different places. A clearer website and a tested booking setup helped more than any AI tool would have.
AI training on your own work
If you'd rather learn than hand it over, I'll work through the task with you or your team using your real material, not a generic course. You'll practise writing the instructions, checking the output and fixing it when it drifts. Sessions run 1:1 or for small teams, in person around Greater Manchester or remote.
Most people already have a favourite tool, so I run Claude training for small businesses and ChatGPT training for small teams as separate sessions.
Automation, kept to a sensible size
Some tasks are worth connecting up so they run with less effort. I'll set up small automations with tools you can see and change yourself, and document how they work.
When a job needs custom code, several systems talking to each other or ongoing technical support, it belongs with a specialist developer. I'll say so early and can work alongside them on the parts I know well.
An example from client work
A founder-led US health brand had years of expert video reviews but not enough time to turn them into articles. I set up a YouTube-to-blog AI workflow that turned his videos into first drafts in his own voice, with a review step before anything was published. It sat inside a wider content refresh programme, which is where my SEO consulting services come in.
That's the overlap I'm best placed for: content and marketing work where I can judge whether the output is good enough to publish, not just whether it sounds plausible.
How to start: a free 20-minute call
No polished brief, no sales pitch. Just one real task and an honest answer about what would help.
- 01
Free 20-minute call
Bring one task that keeps taking too much time. We look at a recent example together and you leave with one practical next step, whether or not we work together.
- 02
A paid session, if it helps
If more help makes sense, I'll suggest a 1:1 or small team session built around that task, in person in Greater Manchester or remote. The scope and price are agreed before anything is booked.
- 03
Ongoing help only if it earns it
Follow-up sessions only where there's a repeating job worth supporting. No long-term contracts.
Questions about AI help for small businesses
What does an AI consultant do for a small business?
The useful version starts with your work, not the technology. I find a task worth improving, test whether AI makes it faster or more consistent, and leave you with a method your team can run. Sometimes the answer is a simpler process or a tool you already pay for, and I'll say so.
How much does an AI consultant cost?
It depends on the task and how much setup and teaching it needs. After a short first conversation I'll suggest a scope and price for one defined piece of work. You know the cost before you commit, and there's no long-term contract.
Do I need an AI consultant, or can I work it out myself?
If you already have a clear task and time to experiment, you may not need me. Where I help most is when you use ChatGPT or similar most days but it hasn't really changed your workload, or you aren't sure which job to start with.
Will you build custom AI software or agents?
No. I set up small, practical workflows with tools you can run and maintain yourself. If the job needs custom software, integrations between several systems or a developer's ongoing support, I'll tell you early and point you towards a specialist.
Which AI tools do you use?
I use Claude a lot in my own work, and I'll work with the tools your business already pays for where they can do the job. The tool matters less than a clear task, good inputs and a person checking the output.
Can practical AI help with SEO and content?
Yes, and it's where my background helps most. I can judge whether an AI-assisted article, brief or report is actually good enough to publish, not just whether it reads well. Search strategy itself is a separate piece of work.
What's the job that keeps eating your week?
Tell me how it happens now and what a better version would look like. I'll be honest about whether AI is likely to help.