AI consultancy
AI consultancy for owners who want to run it themselves.
Independent AI consultants, based in Leeds and working across the UK. We find where AI and the data you already have will save time or win more work, show you exactly how, and teach your own team to build it. You own the result, and there are no retainers.
Consultant, agency or software?
Most businesses are offered an app or a retainer. We offer to teach you.
The tools have changed. Things that needed a developer a few years ago can now be built in days by someone who understands the process. That person is usually already in your business. Our job is to show them how.
| Long Lever | Typical agency | Off-the-shelf software | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who builds it | Your own team, with us guiding them | The agency or developer | The vendor |
| Who owns it | You, accounts in your name | Often shared, or licensed back to you | The vendor |
| Typical cost | Fixed fees, usually £1,500 to £4,000 | Often tens of thousands | Per-user fees, every month |
| Changing it later | Your team does it | Another quote | Wait for the roadmap |
| Ongoing fees to us | None | Retainers and support contracts | For as long as you use it |
Where AI makes a difference
Start with the work that eats your week.
Reporting and admin
Join up the systems you already pay for, so the monthly report, the client pack and the board figures build themselves from one set of numbers.
Joining up your systemsTenders, bids and quotes
An answer library, past bids kept current and a checker that scores a draft the way an evaluator will. Faster bids that win more often.
See the bid studio demoEnquiries and follow-up
Every enquiry logged, answered and chased, with AI drafting the routine replies and a person signing off anything that matters.
What AI agents can doPolicies, procedures and training
One format and one library for your procedures, an AI policy staff actually follow, and training records that keep themselves up to date.
Try the free AI policy builderRecruitment
Your own careers page, Google for Jobs and social posts instead of job board fees, with every applicant getting a reply.
Cutting recruitment costsSearch and AI visibility
Bring SEO and AI search (GEO) in-house with a weekly AI-assisted routine, so customers and AI assistants find you without an agency retainer.
Bringing SEO in-houseHow it works
Four steps, then it’s yours.
- 01
Understand
We sit with the people doing the work and map where the time really goes, and what data you already hold.
- 02
Connect
We join up the information you already have, read-only and safely, into one set of figures everyone trusts.
- 03
Show
We present it the way each audience needs it, from a director briefing to a client report, using your own data, not a generic demo.
- 04
Hand over and train
Your team builds and runs it, alongside us, with written guides. No dependency on us for the next change.
Proof from our own businesses
We used it on our own businesses first.
91.74%
tender score to win back a secondary school contract, using a bid pack built this way.
20
standard procedures now used to set up every new security keyholding site, instead of starting from scratch.
24
vacancies indexed in Google job search from a company’s own site, with no job board fees.
What it costs
Fixed prices, agreed up front.
First conversation
Free
30 minutes on Teams, Zoom or the phone. An honest view on whether AI will help, and where.
Discovery session
£500 fixed
Half a day mapping one process, with a written one-page plan you keep whether or not you go further.
Build with you
£1,500 to £4,000
A fixed-price package, agreed up front, that ends with your team running the result.
Where the gain can be measured, we can take a share of the proven saving instead of a full fee. And we sign an NDA before we see any of your data. How we keep data safe.
Questions
AI consultancy questions, answered.
What does an AI consultant do?
An AI consultant looks at how your business actually works, finds where AI and better use of your data would save time or win more work, and shows you how to put it in place safely. At Long Lever we then teach your own team to build and run it, so you are not tied to us afterwards.
What is the difference between an AI consultant and an AI agency?
An agency builds things for you and usually charges again for every change, often on a retainer. A consultant advises. We go one step further than advice: we guide your team while they build it themselves, so you own the result, pay no ongoing fees to us and can change it whenever you need to.
How much does AI consultancy cost?
The first conversation is free. A discovery session is £500 fixed, and build-with-you packages are usually £1,500 to £4,000, agreed up front. Afterwards you pay only for your own tool subscriptions, typically a modest monthly amount.
Do we need technical staff?
No. Today’s AI tools and app builders work from plain English. The most important skill is understanding the process, and the person who already runs it is usually the best person to learn to build it.
Is our data safe?
We sign an NDA before seeing anything, use business-grade AI accounts where your data is not used for training, keep connections read-only and keep a person signing off anything that matters. We work with UK GDPR in mind and can help you put an AI policy in place.
Will AI replace our staff?
It takes on routine, repetitive work. In most businesses that means the same team handles more, and you decide where the time goes: customers, quality or growth.
How long does it take?
A discovery session takes half a day. Most build-with-you projects run over a few weeks, in stages that are each useful on their own, so you see results early rather than waiting for a big launch.
Where do you work?
We are based in Leeds and work with businesses across Yorkshire and the Humber, including Leeds, York, Harrogate, Wakefield, Bradford, Sheffield, Doncaster and Hull, and remotely across the UK, including London. Site visits across the North of England and the Midlands are included in build-with-you packages.
Read more
- How to choose an AI consultantQuestions to ask, red flags, and when you don’t need one.
- Where should a small business start with AI?A practical first 30 days.
- Do you need a developer to build a business app?How your own team can learn to build it.
- Is it safe to put company data into AI?What really happens to what you type.
- Live demos with sample dataClick around platforms built this way.
AI by industry, with worked examples
- AI for manufacturing SMEsQuoting, order entry, quality and ISO paperwork, with a working quote helper.
- AI for wholesale and distributionReordering, email orders and late deliveries, with a stock and deliveries app.
- AI for accountants and professional services firmsProposals, onboarding and chasing, with a proposal builder.
- Schools: cleaning hours plannerWork out the hours your buildings need, with a live planner.
- Academy trusts: one view across every schoolComparable measures and a trust dashboard.
Start with a free discovery check.
About five minutes, rough answers are fine. You will get a short summary of where the first opportunity is likely to be, and what the sensible next step looks like.