AI consulting · Generative AI that integrates · Built by Brisbane software engineers
AI consulting for Australian small businesses
Our specialist Squirrels know how to crack the nut of AI for your business. Forget copy-pasting into prompt boxes: we build generative AI solutions that integrate with your systems, streamline your workflows and actually fit what you do.
AI plumbed into real business systems
Custom-built AI solutions for any task
Governance and compliance help
Anyone can sell you an AI strategy. We can deliver one that actually works.
Plenty of AI agencies will sell you a strategy. Fewer can wire it into the software and processes you actually run your business on.
95%
of enterprise AI pilots deliver no measurable return."
The gap isn't the AI model - it's delivery. Engaging stakeholders and designing end-to-end workflows across AI, integration, custom software and operational teams is what we've always done.
Our approach:
AI solutions that actually connect to your systems, and follow your specific processes
Our AI specialists will work to deeply understand your business, your objectives, and compliance requirements.
Every business runs differently. Your AI should too.
Step 1 · Discovery
We map how your business actually runs
We start with the people doing the work. We trace the workflows, spreadsheets and systems your operation really depends on - and take an honest look at the quality, location and sensitivity of your data.
- Stakeholder interviews across every team AI will touch
- A plain-English picture of your workflows, data and compliance obligations
- A frank read on where AI genuinely helps - and where it doesn't
Step 2 · Opportunity
A shortlist of AI wins, ranked
Every idea gets pressure-tested against real value, effort and risk. You get a prioritised roadmap - so the first thing you build is the thing actually worth building. Together, steps 1 and 2 make up your fixed-price AI readiness assessment.
- Use cases scored on return, effort and risk
- A ranked roadmap: quick wins first, bigger builds planned
- Honest advice when an integration or spreadsheet beats AI
Step 3 · Proof of concept
Proven on your real data before you commit
Before anything big is signed off, we de-risk it: a small, timeboxed proof of concept built against your real data, with success criteria agreed up front.
- Scoped and quoted from your readiness assessment, so you know the cost first
- Demonstrated on your live data - not demo data
- A clear go / no-go recommendation - even when go isn't the answer
Step 4 · Build and integration
Wired into the systems you already run
This is where most AI projects stall - not ours. We're software developers first, so your AI ships as well-architected software: integrated with your stack, governed, monitored and documented.
- Integrated with the software you actually run your business on
- Governance, access control and logging built in from day one
- Documentation and a codebase your team (or ours) can maintain
Step 5 · Training and enablement
Your team adopts it with confidence
An AI capability only pays off when people use it. We train the teams who'll live with the new workflows - from prompt confidence to knowing when to escalate to a human.
- Hands-on training for the teams using it every day
- Playbooks and prompt templates in plain English
- Clear escalation paths for when AI should not decide alone
Step 6 · Support and evolution
Measured, maintained and kept useful
Models, plugins and your business all move on. We monitor usage and outcomes, keep integrations healthy, and revisit the roadmap so the capability keeps earning its place.
- Ongoing monitoring of accuracy, cost and usage
- Model and integration updates as the ecosystem moves
- Regular reviews to find the next workflow worth automating
Pricing
AI consulting pricing: start with a clear picture, then build what pays off.
Start with a free chat, then a fixed-price AI readiness assessment. You'll know where AI will genuinely help, what it will take and what it will cost, before you commit to a build.
Free consultation
No obligation
$0
30 minutes with an engineer
A straight conversation about where you are with AI and where you'd like to be. You'll leave with honest answers, whatever you decide.
- Talk to an engineer, not a sales rep
- A first read on where AI could help
- Honest advice, even when it's "not yet"
- No pitch, no obligation
Recommended
AI readiness assessment
Fixed price
$999
ex. GST
Steps 1 and 2 of our approach: a frank, practical read on where AI fits your business, and a ranked roadmap of what's worth doing first.
- Stakeholder interviews and workflow mapping
- Data, privacy and compliance review
- Use cases scored on return, effort and risk
- A ranked roadmap, quick wins first
- Written report, walkthrough and a quote for next steps
- Fee credited against the next stage if you proceed
AI implementation
Priced per project
Quoted
from your readiness assessment
Steps 3 to 6: we prove it on your real data, build it into your systems and stay with you after launch.
- Proof of concept on your real data, with a clear go / no-go
- Built and integrated with the software you run
- Governance, access control and logging from day one
- Training and playbooks for your team
- Ongoing support, monitoring and improvement
- Milestone sign-off, with approval before any variation
All prices are in Australian dollars and exclude GST. The $999 assessment fee is credited against implementation if you proceed. Implementation is quoted in milestones you sign off, with your approval before any variation. After a single agent for chat, email or phone? See AI Agents. See exactly what's in the AI readiness assessment.
Know where your data is going: Australian-hosted or in-house AI
We deliver services with the right mix of vendors to suit your needs and data compliance requirements. That may be one of the mainstream vendors such as Anthropic or OpenAI, or it could even be served from our Brisbane-based data centre, or a Code Squirrel delivered AI server in your office - giving keeping your data "in house" a whole new meaning.
Generative AI for small business
Where generative AI actually pays off for a small business
Most small and medium businesses don't need a moonshot. They need the repetitive, text-heavy work taken off their plate. These are the jobs we're asked about most, and the ones a readiness assessment usually ranks first.
Customers
Enquiries answered, day and night
An AI agent on your website, email or phone that answers routine questions, takes bookings and hands anything tricky to a person. See AI agents.
Admin
Documents read and data entered for you
Invoices, forms, applications and emails pulled apart and keyed into the right system, with a person checking anything the AI isn't sure about.
Knowledge
Answers from your own documents
Ask a question and get an answer drawn from your policies, procedures and past jobs, with a link to the source, so staff stop digging through shared drives.
Writing
First drafts in your voice
Quotes, proposals, reports and replies drafted from your templates and data, ready for a person to review and send.
Reporting
Summaries that write themselves
Meeting notes, job reports and weekly numbers summarised from the systems you already use, and delivered where your team will actually read them.
Sensitive work
Private AI for private data
Health, legal and financial information stays on Australian infrastructure with Squirrel AI, or inside your own office with In-Office AI.
And if a plain integration or a better spreadsheet will do the job, we'll tell you. Sometimes the best AI project is a system integration.
Who you'll work with
An AI agency and a software house, in one Brisbane-led team
AI consultants can tell you what to do. Plenty of AI agencies can build a demo. We do both, then wire it into the software your business runs on, and stay to look after it.
An engineer from the first call
We don't have a sales team. Your free consultation is with someone who would actually do the work, and they stay with you through the build.
A team of 30+ behind them
Developers, designers, project managers and testers, so your AI project gets the same delivery discipline as any other software we ship.
Brisbane-based, Australian-owned
A family-owned team building software for Australian businesses since 2019, for start-ups through to ASX 200 names.
Here after launch
We monitor, maintain and improve what we build. Real Australian support is a phone call away on (07) 3522 8888.
Phillip
Mr Toys
“Code Squirrel scoped out the works, provided an awesome quote and delivered the software setup on our server within a couple of weeks. The whole process was easy and painless.”
Emma
Fliit
“Code Squirrel effortlessly understood our requirements and delivered exceptional outcomes. We now have our systems integrated removing hours of data entry and improving our management reporting capabilities.”
FAQ
AI consulting questions, answered straight.
How much does AI consulting cost?
Your first 30-minute consultation is free. The AI readiness assessment is a fixed $999 ex. GST. Anything we build after that is quoted from the assessment, in milestones you sign off, with your approval before any variation. If you go ahead, the $999 is credited against the next stage.
What's in the AI readiness assessment?
Stakeholder interviews and workflow mapping, a review of your data, privacy and compliance obligations, and AI use cases scored on return, effort and risk. You get a written report, a walkthrough session, a ranked roadmap with quick wins first, and a quote for next steps.
How long does it take?
Your readiness assessment comes with a timeline for every stage before you commit. As a guide, most first AI agents go live within two to four weeks of the assessment, depending on the systems involved.
Is AI worth it for a small business?
Often, if you start with the right job. Small businesses usually see the quickest return from automating repetitive, text-heavy work: enquiries, bookings, data entry and drafting. The assessment shows where AI will pay off, and where it won't, before you spend anything on a build.
What can generative AI do for my business?
Answer customer enquiries, draft quotes and replies, pull data out of documents, search your own knowledge base and summarise reports. The useful part is connecting it to your systems, so it works with real data instead of copy and paste.
Do we need an AI consultant or an AI agency?
Usually both: someone to work out what's worth doing, and someone to build it properly. We're a software development team first, so the same engineers who assess your opportunities build, integrate and support the result.
Where is our data processed?
Wherever your compliance needs say it should be. That can be a mainstream provider such as Anthropic or OpenAI, our own Australian-hosted Squirrel AI in Queensland and Victoria, or private AI on hardware in your office. The assessment maps where your data goes at every step.
What happens after the proof of concept?
You get a clear go / no-go recommendation, even when go isn't the answer. If it's a go, we quote the build in milestones, integrate it with your systems, train your team and support it after launch.
Can you build an AI agent for chat, email or phone?
Yes. If you already know you want an agent for customer enquiries or bookings, see AI agents. It starts with the same $999 readiness assessment.
Do you sign an NDA?
Yes. Every engagement is covered by a mutual NDA from day one, before you share anything sensitive.
Got a problem worth automating?
Book a free 30-minute chat. You'll talk to an engineer, not a sales rep - and leave with a straight answer about what AI integration could mean for your business. No pitch, just straight answers.
