Pilot
Big Four firm: an internal work-efficiency tool.
Our team built an internal work-efficiency tool for a Big Four firm as a pilot. We keep the firm anonymous.
Forward-deployed engineers
We build AI agents for the work between your tools.
Our engineers work with your operations team, inside the tools you already use. A person approves every risky step. You keep the code.
- Works in your current tools
- A person approves risky steps
- Code in your repo
Interactive example · Illustrative
Follow one invoice to the person who signs off.
Watch the agent handle one supplier invoice the way your AP team would, then make the call yourself. Sample documents and amounts; it connects to no real system.
An email from Northstar Components lands in your AP inbox.
The problem
Why AI pilots stall in operations teams.
Nobody owns it after the demo.
A vendor shows a chatbot. Your team goes back to spreadsheets on Monday.
It lives outside your tools.
The pilot runs in a sandbox. Your real work runs in email, the ERP and a shared drive.
Your people can't trust it.
An agent that can't show its evidence, or ask before it acts, stays switched off.
Context: MIT NANDA, State of AI in Business 2025, reports that 95% of AI pilots never reach the P&L.
How an engagement works
An engineer sits with your team, then writes the code.
Consultants hand you a deck. Our engineers join your standups, read your inbox rules, and learn why the Tuesday report takes four people. Then they build the agent inside your systems. We call this forward-deployed engineering.
Fixed scope. Fixed fee.
You know the cost before we start. We confirm prices on the teardown call.
- 0030 minutes
Teardown
Bring one broken workflow. Leave with a written map and a go / no-go.
Book a teardownPriceFree - 01Weeks 1–2
Find
An engineer shadows the people who do the work and maps every tool, hand-off and wait.
You getA map of one workflow, the cost of each delay, and a fixed-scope build plan.
PriceConfirmed on the call - 02Weeks 3–8
Ship and hand over
- Weeks 3 to 6: we build the agent inside your systems, with approval gates where your policy needs them, and run it on real cases.
- Weeks 7 and 8: we hand over the code in your repo, runbooks, trained owners and a dashboard.
PriceConfirmed on the call - 03Monthly
Run
Optional. We monitor and tune the agent, and add workflows. You can also run it yourselves.
PriceConfirmed on the call
Where agents help
Same machine. Your rules.
Everyone can buy the same AI. What makes it work in your business is what we build around it: your rules, your tools and the person who signs off. That part is our job.
Your rules, written down.
Your best people check things in their heads: a margin floor, an appetite guide, a payer's criteria. We turn those checks into steps the agent follows every time.
Your tools, not a new one.
The agent reads and writes in the systems your team already uses. Nobody learns a new app.
Your people, at the risky step.
A person approves anything that moves money or reaches a customer. The agent logs every step.
Pick an industry or a function. Watch the agent work: same four steps, different tools and rules.
Logistics · Freight quote Illustrative
A freight rate request, priced from your own rules.
The rules it follows
- Carrier is on your approved list
- Liftgate at the dock adds a fee
- Margin at or above your floor
- Comes in
A shipper emails: 22 pallets, Dallas to Atlanta, Thursday.
- Agent works
Pulls lane history and three carrier rates, adds the liftgate fee, drafts the quote.
- Person decides
The rep checks the margin and sends.
- Done and logged
The quote goes out. Load 58213 is booked in your TMS.
Insurance · Submission triage Illustrative
A broker submission, read, checked and ranked.
The rules it follows
- Class is inside your appetite
- Insured value under $5M
- Roof year is on file
- Comes in
A broker sends three PDFs for Harbor Grill.
- Agent works
Pulls the key fields, checks your appetite guide, asks the broker for the missing roof year.
- Person decides
The underwriter chooses to quote, refer or decline.
- Done and logged
Harbor Grill moves to the top of the queue, every field linked to its source page.
Healthcare · Prior authorization Illustrative
A prior auth packet, built from the chart.
The rules it follows
- 6 weeks of therapy documented
- Pain for more than 6 weeks
- X-ray in the chart
- Comes in
Dr. Patel orders an MRI. The payer needs prior authorization.
- Agent works
Finds the evidence in the chart and matches it to the payer's rules.
- Person decides
A nurse reviewer checks every packet. The agent never denies care.
- Done and logged
The request goes to the payer as A-2207. The patient hears back.
Consulting · Research to deck Illustrative
A market scan, drafted with every claim cited.
The rules it follows
- Every number has a source
- Sources under 2 years old
- No other client's data
- Comes in
A partner asks for a cold-chain market scan before Friday.
- Agent works
Reads 40 sources, replaces old ones, drafts 8 slides with every claim cited.
- Person decides
The partner reviews and signs off. Nothing reaches the client without it.
- Done and logged
The deck lands in the client folder with its sources.
Finance · Invoice to ledger Illustrative
An invoice matched, explained and posted.
The rules it follows
- Invoice matches the PO
- Goods received in full
- Variance over $1,000 needs proof
- Comes in
Northstar Components emails invoice INV-1048 for $44,050.
- Agent works
Matches PO-2291, checks the goods, finds change order CO-17 for the +$2,850.
- Person decides
The finance lead approves the variance.
- Done and logged
Entry AP-8841 posts to the ledger. The supplier gets a confirmation.
Sales ops · Call to CRM Illustrative
A sales call, logged before the rep hangs up.
The rules it follows
- Stage moves only with a next step
- Discount over 15% needs a manager
- No touch in 14 days: flag it
- Comes in
A 32-minute discovery call with Acme Foods ends.
- Agent works
Logs the notes, moves the deal stage, drafts the follow-up email.
- Person decides
The sales manager approves the 18% discount.
- Done and logged
The CRM is current and the follow-up is on its way.
Support · Ticket to reply Illustrative
A damaged-order ticket, answered with full context.
The rules it follows
- VIP: reply within 1 hour
- Damage claims need a photo
- Refunds over $100 need a lead
- Comes in
Dana, a VIP customer, reports a damaged $240 order.
- Agent works
Pulls the order and her last three tickets, then drafts the reply.
- Person decides
The support lead approves the $240 refund.
- Done and logged
The reply goes out and the ticket closes.
People · New-hire setup Illustrative
A new hire, ready on day one.
The rules it follows
- Laptop ships 5 days before start
- Accounts match the role
- Finance data access needs IT
- Comes in
Priya signs her offer. She starts Monday.
- Agent works
Rushes the laptop, creates accounts for her role, sends the day-one docs.
- Person decides
IT approves read-only access to the ledger.
- Done and logged
Six accounts and her laptop are ready for Monday.
Delivery · Weekly status Illustrative
A client status report, written from real work.
The rules it follows
- Status comes from real tickets only
- A slip over 3 days turns red
- Client sees the PM-approved version
- Comes in
Friday at 3pm, the Atlas status report is due.
- Agent works
Reads 23 tickets and 140 messages, marks the late milestone red.
- Person decides
The project manager edits and approves.
- Done and logged
The client gets the status. A copy goes to the project folder.
Reporting · Monthly numbers pack Illustrative
A numbers pack that explains itself.
The rules it follows
- Every number ties to the ledger
- Changes over 5% get a reason
- Same metric names as last month
- Comes in
The September ledger closes on Oct 3.
- Agent works
Builds 12 charts, compares to August, explains each change over 5%.
- Person decides
The CFO signs off.
- Done and logged
The pack goes to leadership, tied to the ledger.
Not on the list? If your team follows rules that live in people's heads, copies data between tools and waits on approvals, the same machine fits. Names and numbers in these examples are illustrative.
Works inside the tools you already use
Examples of systems our agents work in. Not client logos.
- Gmail
- Outlook
- Slack
- Salesforce
- HubSpot
- NetSuite
- QuickBooks
- SAP
- Google Sheets
- Google Drive
- Jira
- Zendesk
- Notion
Control and ownership
Agents ask before they act. You keep what we build.
Approval gates.
You set the rules. The agent stops and asks above any limit.
Evidence on every step.
Each action links to the document, row or email behind it.
Your cloud, your keys.
Agents run in your environment with least-privilege access.
Full audit log.
Export it for your auditors any time.
When we leave, everything stays.
- Code in your repository, under your licence.
- Your choice of model: OpenAI, Anthropic, Google or open-source. We switch when a better one ships.
- Runbooks your team can follow without us.
- Owners on your side, trained on real cases.
Who shows up
The people who build it are the people you meet.
-
Tech lead
Leads the build inside your stack. Writes the agent and its approval gates with your engineers.
-
Consulting lead
Owns the workflow map and works with your stakeholders on where a person must decide.
-
Product lead
Makes sure your team adopts the agent and can run it after handover.
FAQ
Questions
Do we need to replace our tools?
No. The agent works inside the tools you already use: email, ERP, CRM, drives.
What if the agent gets it wrong?
It stops at every gate you set. A person approves, returns or edits. It logs the reason.
Which AI model do you use?
The best one for the job. We stay vendor-neutral and can switch models later.
Where does our data go?
Nowhere new. Agents run in your cloud with the access you grant.
What happens after eight weeks?
You own everything. You can run it yourselves or keep us on the monthly plan.
How is this different from a consultancy?
Our people write production code in your systems. You get a working agent, not a report.
Bring us the workflow that keeps breaking.
30 minutes. One engineer. A written map of the fix, free.
- 30 minutes. Bring one broken workflow.
- One engineer. The kind who would build it.
- A written map of the fix, and a go / no-go.