People ask me all the time what AI can actually do for a business like theirs. Not in theory. In real life, with real employees and real customers.
So here are six projects I've built or taught business owners to build. None of them needed an IT department. Most of these owners now manage the system by talking to their AI agent, the same way they'd talk to an employee.
Logistics
Tens of thousands saved a year with one custom app
- The problem
- A company that inspects the rooftop anchor points window cleaners use on skyscrapers. Every one has to be inspected once a year, for 3,000 customers across the United States. Every trip came down to one question: fly the company's own aircraft, or book the inspectors on airline flights?
- What we built
- Routing software that works out, trip by trip, which option costs less, the company plane or commercial flights, and plans the routes to cover their customers.
- The result
- Tens of thousands of dollars saved every year from one application, and travel decisions based on real numbers instead of guesswork.
Operations
From job site to invoice, almost instantly
- The problem
- Travel time, hours on each job and materials were tracked by hand. Invoices went out late, markups got missed, and QuickBooks didn't talk to anything else.
- What we built
- Custom software the employees use to log their travel time, their time on each job and the materials used. Once management approves, the system applies the markup and sends the customer an invoice. It also keeps QuickBooks and their other systems in sync.
- The result
- Invoices go out almost as soon as the job is approved, every hour and every part gets billed, and the whole business runs off one system.
Phones
An AI agent that answers the calls you miss
- The problem
- Missed calls during the day and after hours. Every one is a customer who might call a competitor next.
- What we built
- An AI phone agent that picks up when nobody else can. It answers the questions customers ask most, connects to the booking system to book appointments, and answers questions about orders and shipping.
- The result
- Every call gets answered, nights and weekends included, and appointments get booked while the owner is off the clock.
Nonprofit
A grant system that works while everyone sleeps
- The problem
- Finding grants and writing applications took hours nobody on a small team had.
- What we built
- An automated system that researches new grants every night and sends the best matches to the board. The board approves the ones they want, and the system applies.
- The result
- A steady flow of grant opportunities and applications, without adding staff.
Marketing
Google and Facebook ads, run by their own AI agent
- The problem
- Ad spend going out every month, no clear idea what it was buying, and the only alternative was paying an agency.
- What we built
- I taught several businesses to have their own AI agent manage their Google Ads and Facebook marketing: checking the campaigns, adjusting them, and reporting back in plain English.
- The result
- Their ads are under control, with no agency on the payroll. The owner manages it by talking to the agent like an employee.
Security
A website that gets checked for problems automatically
- The problem
- Nobody was watching the website. Problems got noticed only after something broke, or after a customer complained.
- What we built
- An automated system that checks the website's security on a regular schedule and flags anything that needs attention.
- The result
- Problems get caught early, without hiring an IT company to babysit the site.
What these have in common
Every one of these started with an owner telling me what was eating their time or their money. Not with a piece of software. The AI part is the easy part now. Knowing what to point it at is the hard part, and that's what I help with.
Some of these I build for you. Others I teach your team to set up and run themselves, so you're not paying someone every month to keep it going. Either way, it starts with a free call.
New to AI agents? Start with what Grok Bot is and why it's growing so fast.