AI readiness assessment
The AI Opportunity and Risk Diagnostic reviews workflows, potential value, data access and failure cost. From £2,500 fixed fee.
Outputsworkflow map/opportunity and risk register/prioritised 90-day roadmapIndependent AI consulting / UK
AI consulting for small businesses.
I help small businesses choose where AI is useful, turn one recurring workflow into a working system and give the team clear operating rules. Start with the business problem: slow enquiry handling, repeated reporting, marketing preparation or a process with no clear owner.
Strategy and adoption
Governed workflows and evaluation
Up to three days a week
01
Strategy and adoption
Turn disconnected experiments into a prioritised operating roadmap.
02
Agentic workflows
Connect models, tools and business processes around a clearly owned outcome.
03
Evaluation and governance
Define what good looks like and stop unsupported outputs becoming business facts.
04
Private and local AI
Choose cloud or local processing around the information and risk involved.
A practical starting point
What can an AI consultant help a small business do?
Thomas Howcroft is an independent AI consultant working remotely with UK businesses. I help you compare opportunities, design and test a workflow, or support the people responsible for using it. The work starts with a defined process, a named owner and evidence of what needs to change.
If you need to choose where to start, use the AI readiness assessment. If you already have one recurring task in mind, explore the automation pilot. Training and fractional leadership support the team and the longer-term operating decisions. Human approval is required before anything is sent or published.
Ways to work together
Which engagement fits the problem?
Each engagement has a defined output, boundary and handover. The introductory conversation checks fit; detailed diagnosis and scoping are paid work.
Governance and Evaluation Sprint
Review an existing pilot or live workflow, agree acceptance criteria and test the failures that matter to the business. Scope is agreed before work begins.
Outputsevaluation suite/failure map/operating controls and recommendationAI automation pilot
The Governed Agentic Pilot takes one workflow through implementation, evaluation and handover. First pilots from £1,750 fixed fee, with 50 percent to book and 50 percent on working handover. Use the 16-question AI Pilot Checklist to examine the scope.
Outputsworking workflow/acceptance tests/documentation and handoverFractional chief AI officer
The Fractional AI Systems Lead owns the agreed roadmap, important technical decisions, governance, delivery oversight and adoption. From £3,000 a month; responsibilities, duration and weekly days are scoped.
Outputsdefined decision ownership/weekly operating cadence/monthly evidence reviewAI training for businesses
Leadership and Team AI Training is built around your real work and risks. From £1,250 per half-day session; total programme length is agreed to fit the work.
Outputstailored sessions/working rules/practical adoption planSelected evidence
What has Thomas Howcroft built and operated?
The portfolio includes internal systems, live applications, public websites and paper-only research. These are first-hand operating cases, not promises of client results. Each case states its evidence and limits.
A governed AI operating system across working businesses.
Connected tools support research, reporting, publishing, approvals and internal dashboards across active operations.
Read the full caseEvidenceworking interfaces/evaluation and incident loop/human approval for external actionsA private founder dashboard built around decisions.
Today, Briefing, Work, Brand, Health, Review and mobile approvals reduce noise without exposing personal records.
Read the full caseEvidencedesktop and mobile surfaces/honest stale states/exact approval packetsRole-based operational visibility for a working studio.
An internal platform connects project truth, studio schedules, reviews and management decisions while restricting each view by role.
Read the full caseEvidencecontrolled project source/role-shaped views/automated privacy checksA private AI operating system across desktop, Android and wearable devices.
Role-shaped surfaces combine approvals, voice, native notifications, health sources, cross-device state and designed recovery.
Read the full caseEvidencesigned build/physical-device checks/recovery and deep-link proofOvershove connects a working application to governed growth.
The live poker beta, public website, search estate, creative system and AI content operations share explicit quality and approval gates.
Read the full caseEvidencelive beta/offline-aware logging/search and publishing controlsMethod
What is the delivery method?
The work moves from an owned business problem to a system the team can understand and operate.
Diagnosis
Define the workflow, decision, baseline, sponsor, evidence and failure cost.
Architecture
Set the data boundaries, tools, ownership, approval points and acceptance criteria.
Build and evaluate
Implement the smallest useful workflow and test it against known failures.
Handover and adoption
Document the operating rules, train the people involved and agree how evidence is reviewed.
Suitability
Is this the right fit for your business?
I work with founder-led and mid-market B2B, technology, professional-service and creative organisations.
A useful starting point: a recurring workflow or decision, a named sponsor, access to the people and data involved, and a willingness to test before scaling.
Clear boundaries: this practice covers scoped AI consulting, implementation, training and fractional leadership. It does not offer full-time employment, generic staff augmentation, pure model research or specialist ML engineering.
Creative production work belongs to XO3D. Technical SEO and AI-search visibility delivery runs through TomHow.
Practical questions
What should you know before starting?
Scope, responsibility and limits are agreed before work begins.
Do you advise or build?
Both. An engagement can stop at a diagnostic and roadmap or continue into a separately scoped workflow build. The pilot includes implementation, evaluation and handover. The scope states exactly what I own and what your team provides.
Does a small business need AI for every automation?
No. A predictable step may need an ordinary rule or integration. AI is useful where information needs interpreting or a draft needs preparing, with checks appropriate to the task. I start with the process and the result, then choose the tools.
Can you work with our internal technical team?
Yes. I can work alongside an internal team or lead a defined workstream. Responsibilities, data access, approval points, acceptance criteria and handover are agreed before the build.
Do you automate external actions?
Drafting and preparation can be automated. My current standard requires human approval before anything is sent or published. Phone and video conversations with clients stay human. The scope makes responsibility for external actions clear.
How do you handle confidential information?
Data handling and system boundaries are agreed before work begins. Cloud services are used where appropriate, with local processing available where information needs to remain private. The choice depends on the information and risks involved.
Are you available full time?
No. I take remote UK projects and part-time contracts for up to three days a week. Fractional AI Systems Lead work runs at one to three days a week, with defined responsibilities, a weekly operating cadence and a monthly evidence review.
Can you guarantee ROI, rankings or AI citations?
No. I define measurable objectives, report the available evidence and state its limits. We agree acceptance criteria and test the failures that matter to the business. A workload estimate without a recorded baseline is not presented as a measured saving.
Read before you decide
Need to work through the decision first?
Which business process should you automate first?
Decide which workflow deserves attention before committing to a build.
Business workflow automation examples
See useful starting points across lead handling, reporting and operations.
What does an AI automation pilot cost in the UK?
Understand the first pilot terms and the costs to examine.
How to choose an AI automation consultant
Assess evidence, ownership and handover when comparing consultants.
AI training, an assessment or a pilot: where should you start?
Match the problem you have to the right first engagement.
Automated client reporting
Build a recurring report your team can still stand behind.
Client onboarding automation
Collect details once and keep commitments with a person.
Discuss a project
How do you start an AI consulting project?
I review every brief myself. If the fit is right, I will suggest a short introductory call. If it is not, I will say so.
Send the current workflow, tools involved, what needs to change, the sponsor, timing and likely investment range. The introductory call checks fit; detailed diagnosis and scoping are paid work.
Remote, UK
Projects and fractional work
Up to three days a week