Practical AI for SMEs

Simple, low-risk ways to use AI to reduce admin workload and free your team for value-adding work — grounded in your existing policies, procedures and internal knowledge.

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What this page is (and isn’t)
  • Is: practical examples + realistic next steps
  • Isn’t: hype, vague “AI transformation” talk
  • Focus: cost savings + consistency + speed

The simplest way AI helps SMEs

Most SMEs don’t need “AI everywhere”. The quickest wins come from reducing repetitive questions and document-hunting — using AI to answer queries based on your own approved information.

Example sources: HR handbook, health & safety, safeguarding, cyber security policies, onboarding checklists, SOPs, quality procedures, client-specific documentation.

Typical savings

When staff can get answers instantly from internal guidance, you typically reduce:

Helpdesk & admin queries
Fewer “how do I…?” calls, fewer inbox interruptions.
HR back-and-forth
Less time answering repeated questions about policy and process.
Compliance searching
Staff find the correct procedure quickly — without “Ctrl+F” archaeology.
Time lost to interruptions
Managers spend less time being the “human search engine”.
In practice, even a modest reduction in internal queries can save several hours per week across a small organisation — with AI responses typically costing only a few pence per question when implemented well.
Practical SME use cases that cut costs
1) “Ask our policies” assistant
Staff ask questions in plain English and get an answer grounded in your approved documents (with “Sources used” so it’s transparent).
2) Onboarding & training helper
New starters find answers quickly without pulling senior staff away from work.
3) Customer service / internal ops triage
AI handles repetitive queries and routes only the tricky edge cases to humans.
4) “Where do I find…?” document finder
AI retrieves the right section from the right document and points staff to the full policy or SOP.
Keeping it safe and low-risk
  • Approved sources only: answers are generated from your chosen document set (not random web content).
  • Transparent “Sources used”: users can see demonstrate where the answer came from.
  • Guardrails: if the documents don’t contain the answer, the assistant says so.
  • Predictable costs: track tokens and estimated cost per question.
How I use AI to deliver faster (without cutting corners)

I also use AI in my development workflow to speed up delivery and improve quality — while keeping security and maintainability front-and-centre.

Safer implementations
Faster iteration on secure patterns, validation, auth flows, and defensive coding approaches.
Better testing & review
More time for tests, performance checks, and careful review — especially when modernising legacy systems.
The aim is not “AI-written code” — it’s quicker delivery of robust, supportable solutions.

Interactive demo

See how answers are grounded in internal documents, with “Sources used”, estimated cost and response time.

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AI guides for SMEs

Plain-English guides that help you make sensible decisions about AI adoption, risk, and practical implementation.

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Want to apply this to your business?
If you have existing procedures and policies, you already have the raw material for a useful internal AI assistant. I can help you implement it in a controlled, measurable way.
Discuss an AI pilot