of mid-sized UK firms are using AI in their operations.
DSIT, 2026
Fractional AI officer
Your business runs on manual work. It doesn't have to.
I'm a London-based consultant helping owner-managed UK businesses automate the unglamorous work — quoting, reporting, invoice-chasing, re-keying between systems — and training their own teams to run what gets built.
The problem, with numbers
of construction firms have no plans to adopt AI at all.
DSIT, 2026
of SMEs say they "use AI" — but only around one in ten are actually automating any part of their operations.
BCC, 2026
The companies with the most repetitive work are, on the whole, the ones with nobody whose job it is to fix it.
How it works
Four stages · most clients start at stage two
1. Readiness check
FreeTwelve questions, about four minutes, no signup. A scored breakdown across leadership, operations, data and people.
Take the check →2. AI Opportunity Audit
£3,500Half a day inside your business. Every recommendation comes back priced in £/month saved. The roadmap is yours to keep, whether or not you hire me again.
Book a walkthrough →3. Fractional AI Officer
From £4,500/moMonthly strategy with you, the MD. Systems built with your team, not around them — plus the training so they can run it themselves.
Ask about this →4. Installed systems
OngoingA live dashboard of your business, and a set of automations your own people can run and maintain without me in the room.
Ask about this →Most clients start with the audit — it's built to stand on its own, not as a funnel into the retainer.
Why this isn't the usual consultancy
I build things
This page is hand-coded, at the same domain you're reading it on — no agency, no template. The readiness check above is a working tool, not a mockup. You can see the rest of the work on the homepage.
Your team learns to fish
Coaching your people to run a system beats renting mine to run it for you. The capability stays in the building after I leave.
Priced in your arithmetic
Every recommendation carries its own £/month figure. If it doesn't pay for itself, it doesn't go on the roadmap.
For manufacturers
Ask about eligibility →
Made Smarter grants can cover up to 50% (max £20,000) of an AI adoption project for English manufacturers. Audits are written up in a format ready to attach to a grant application.
Field notes
Working notes with real numbers, published weekly — what got built, what it saved, and what didn't work.
Read the field notes Automations built, hours saved, honest numbers /ai-notes/ →About
I'm Rory Phillips, based in London. I've spent several years building fast, hand-coded software for small businesses in the UK and US — no agencies, no page builders, no monthly platform fees. I'm applying the same practicality to AI: no platform to sell, no jargon, and a bias towards automations that pay for themselves.
BasedLondon, UK
Works withOwner-managed UK businesses
Typical size£8M–£120M turnover
Reply timeWithin 24 hours
Ready to see where you stand?
Start with the four-minute check, or skip straight to a conversation — whichever you'd rather do.
Prefer email? rory@roryphillips.dev