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Custom AI software

We build AI software for the jobs your current tools can't do

Our engineers spend time with your team, work out what's slowing them down, and build software to fix it. Usually that involves AI. Sometimes the right answer is simpler.

Talk to us How a project runs
A glass and steel office tower seen from below against a pale sky

Why custom

The work that costs a company the most is usually too specific for packaged software.

Think of the claims that arrive as scanned PDFs and get retyped by hand, the pricing spreadsheet only one person understands, or the approval that needs several systems open at once. AI products sold to everyone tend to miss jobs like these. That's the work we take on, and we start by going to see it.

Why our engineers work on site

How a project runs

Five stages, each finishing with something you can review before we go further.

  1. 1

    Embed

    We spend time with the team that has the problem.

    Output Map of where time is lost

  2. 2

    Define

    We agree what to build and how to judge it.

    Output Requirements and design

  3. 3

    Prototype

    An early version goes in front of its users.

    Output Working prototype

  4. 4

    Build

    We build it to run every day.

    Output Software in production

  5. 5

    Scale

    We hand it over and look at what's next.

    Output Runbook and next steps

More on our approach

Three ways to work with us

Which one fits depends on how clear the problem is and how much there is to do.

  1. 01

    AI strategy

    Work out which problem to solve first.

    A short engagement to look at how your teams work today, decide where software would make the biggest difference, and write a plan specific enough to build from.

  2. 02

    Custom AI solutions

    We design and build the software.

    You have a problem you want solved. We design the application, test an early version with the people who'll use it, then build it properly and put it into production.

  3. 03

    Forward-deployed team

    Our engineers join your team for as long as you need.

    For organizations with more problems than one project can cover. A small group of our engineers and architects works inside your business and keeps building, with your leadership setting the priorities.

What we build

Most projects combine a few of these.

  • AI agents and assistants

    Software that can carry out a multi-step task across your systems and check with a person before anything important.

  • Workflow automation

    Software that takes over the processes where people spend their day copying information from one system to another.

  • Document and knowledge tools

    Search, extraction and question-answering over your own contracts, policies, forms and records.

  • Custom applications

    Internal tools and portals designed around how a particular team does its job.

  • Forecasting and decision models

    Models that predict, classify or recommend, placed inside the decision they're meant to help with.

  • Testing and safeguards

    Evaluation, monitoring and controls that show the software is working and stop it doing what it shouldn't.

About our custom builds

Insights

All insights

Guide4 min read

A guide to custom AI software for business leaders

What custom AI software is, when it's worth building instead of buying, how a project usually runs, and what to ask a firm before you hire one.

  • Custom AI software is written for one organization's problem. The AI is often a small part of it; most of the work is integration, interface and testing.
  • It's worth building when the problem depends on your own processes or data and nothing on the market handles it well.
  • Projects go best when the builders spend time with the people who have the problem and test an early version with them.

Article2 min read

Build or buy AI: how to decide

When an off-the-shelf AI product is the better choice, when custom AI software is, and how to settle the question for a specific problem.

Explainer3 min read

What is a forward-deployed engineer?

A forward-deployed engineer works inside the client's organization, learning the problem from the people who have it and building software where it's used.

Article2 min read

Why AI pilots stall before production

Why so many AI pilots never reach daily use, and what tends to get them over the line: a real problem, honest data, agreed measures and proper engineering.

Common questions

What does Smith Consulting Group do?

We build custom AI software. Our engineers and architects work with your team, find the work that's slowing people down, and build software to handle it. That usually involves AI, along with the integrations and interfaces that make it usable.

Who do you work with?

Business and technology leaders who have a specific problem that packaged software hasn't solved, and who want something built around the way their organization works.

How does a project run?

In five stages: we embed with the team, define what to build, prototype it, build the production version, then hand it over and look at what's next. You get something concrete at the end of each stage.

What is forward-deployed engineering?

It means our engineers work inside your organization. They learn the problem from the people who have it and build the software where it will be used, instead of working from a written brief somewhere else.

How do we get started?

Send us a note through the contact form or at hello@smithconsulting.io describing what you're working on. We reply within two business days.

How are you related to Smith Advanced Systems?

Smith Consulting Group is a subsidiary of Smith Advanced Systems, an independent AI and technology research lab. The lab does research; we build software for clients.

Get our research by email

We send new articles about once a month, and research reports when they're published.

Tell us what's slowing your team down

A few lines is enough to start. We'll reply within two business days.

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