What an AI automation consultant does
The job has three parts.
- Find the work that repeats.
- Decide which of it a machine should do.
- Put the system in production and prove it saved something.
Most engagements stop after part two. You get a deck of opportunities with a saving next to each one, the deck is accurate, and nothing changes. The company that needed help finding the work also needs help doing it.
A recommendation nobody implements costs the same as one that is wrong.
My engagements include the building. On the audit that means a written map and a ranked roadmap. On a retainer it means systems running in your accounts, with your team trained on them.
What gets automated in a service business
Service businesses have a similar shape, so the same six areas come up in almost every audit. These are the ones that pay back first.
- Intake and qualification
Inbound leads read, scored, enriched and routed before a human sees them, with the ones worth a call flagged. - Quoting and proposals
Scope and pricing assembled from your own past jobs instead of rebuilt from scratch each time. - Scheduling and dispatch
Jobs assigned against skills, location and availability, with the customer told automatically. - Data between systems
The CRM, the accounting system and the project tool kept in agreement without anyone re-typing. - Reporting
The weekly numbers assembled and sent, rather than a person rebuilding a spreadsheet every Monday. - Support and follow-up
Common questions answered from your real documentation, with anything uncertain handed to a person.
The first question in an audit is always whether the process should exist. Automating work that should have been deleted makes the work permanent and adds a monthly bill.
The tools
- n8n
Most builds run on it. I hold a Certified Expert Partner listing. - Claude
The reasoning-heavy steps, where the output has to be right and explainable. - GPT
High-volume classification and drafting. - MCP
Connects the models to your CRM, accounting and project systems, so they read live data instead of a copy.
I hold no reseller agreements. If the right answer to your problem is a $30 plugin and no AI at all, that is the answer you get.
Consultant or fractional officer
These are the same person at two levels of ownership. The $4,500 audit is the consulting version, with a defined question and an end date. The fractional seat has neither. I own AI and automation as a function inside your company and answer for the number at the bottom of the monthly report.
| Audit or project | Fractional seat | |
|---|---|---|
| You are buying | An answer to a defined question | Ownership of a function |
| Length | Two weeks | Three months minimum, then rolling |
| Price | $4,500 one off | $6,500 or $12,500 a month |
| Who decides what gets built | You do | I do, reviewed with you monthly |
| Who builds it | Your team, afterwards | Me and my engineers on the Owner package |
| Good starting point when | You want evidence before committing | You already know the work is there |
Most companies start with the audit. It is credited in full against either retainer if you continue within 60 days, so beginning there costs nothing if you go on.
What this costs
Three-month minimum on either retainer, then 30 days notice from either side. Full breakdown and the comparison against a full-time hire on the pricing page.
Who I work with
US service businesses between $1M and $50M in revenue that sell people's time and want to sell more of it without hiring at the same rate. Agencies, trades, professional services, field service and logistics.
- Lisbon, working US hours
Engagements in the US, UK, EU and Australia. - Fifteen years running businesses
Two agencies of my own, 2V Automation and Shila. - $1M+ delivered on Upwork
Top Rated Plus, with a 100% job success score.
Questions about working with an AI automation consultant
What is an AI automation consultant?
How much does an AI automation consultant cost?
Do you build the automations or just advise?
Which platforms and models do you use?
How long before we see a result?
What if we already bought AI tools that are not working?
Do you do n8n consulting as well as AI strategy?
