Turn AI Strategy Into Working Systems
Hartz AI builds bespoke AI solutions for UK SMEs and integrates them into your existing workflows. From custom AI development through to AI workflow automation, every project is designed so your team can run it independently.
Industry data consistently shows that 70-85% of AI projects fail to reach production. MIT research found that organisations working with an AI consultant have a 67% implementation success rate, compared to 33% for those going it alone. Hartz AI bridges that gap with a phased approach: discovery, pilot, scale.
Hartz AI builds bespoke AI solutions and integrates AI workflow automation into existing business processes for UK SMEs. Every project follows a phased approach — discovery, pilot, scale — with team training built in so your people can maintain and improve the system independently.
Is AI Implementation The Step You Are At?
Implementation is usually the right focus if:
- You already understand AI basics and have some sense of where it could help.
- You have ideas or opportunities identified through consultancy or internal work.
- You want to see real workflows and systems, not just more discussion.
- You are ready to involve specific teams and processes in change.
If you are earlier in the journey, AI training or consultancy might be a better starting point.
Start with AI consultancy insteadWe implement AI workflows and systems for SMEs across sport, charities, professional services, education, and real estate in the UK.
AI Implementation
If implementation is the right step, the next question is what you can actually build — and that depends on your organisation's specific processes, data, and goals.
What Bespoke AI Solutions Can UK SMEs Actually Build?
The UK AI market is valued at £72.3 billion — the largest in Europe (LimeUp, 2024). But most bespoke AI solutions are built for enterprises with six-figure budgets. Hartz AI focuses on custom AI development for UK SMEs, building practical systems that solve real operational problems within realistic budgets.
Common implementation projects for SMEs:
- AI automation solutions that connect existing tools and reduce manual handoffs between systems.
- Document processing systems that extract structured data from PDFs, invoices and reports.
- Custom classification and recommendation engines built around your specific data and processes.
- AI-powered analysis tools that surface insights from large datasets in minutes rather than days.
AI software development costs for UK SMEs typically range from £1,500 for starter projects to £50,000+ for complex custom development (Mole Valley Chamber of Commerce). The key is matching the solution to the problem — not every business need requires a bespoke build, and that is where the build vs buy question becomes critical.
Talk about a bespoke AI projectWhat Determines Build Complexity and Cost
Development costs for bespoke AI for small business depend on four factors:
- Data complexity — how structured or messy your existing data is, and whether it needs cleaning before AI can work with it.
- Integration depth — whether the solution needs to connect with CRMs, ERPs, or other AI integration services your team already relies on.
- Process uniqueness — off-the-shelf tools work for generic tasks, but genuinely unique processes need custom solutions.
- Vendor dependency risk — Hartz AI builds with standard tools and open formats so your team is never locked in to a single provider.
Understanding what you can build is the first step — but the more strategic question is whether your organisation should build custom AI at all, or whether existing tools already solve the problem.
The build vs buy decisionShould Your Business Build Custom AI or Buy Off the Shelf?
The build vs buy AI decision is one of the most consequential choices a UK business makes during implementation. Bespoke AI delivers higher long-term ROI but carries higher upfront cost (One Beyond, 2024). Off-the-shelf tools get you started faster but may not fit your specific processes. Most successful SME projects use a practical mix of both approaches.
When Off-the-Shelf Tools Are Enough
Existing AI tools work well when the task is generic and widely shared across industries. Content generation, email triage, meeting transcription and basic data analysis are all areas where custom AI vs off-the-shelf comparisons heavily favour buying. If ChatGPT, Copilot or a specialist SaaS tool solves 80% of your problem, building something bespoke wastes time and budget.
The Build vs Buy Decision Framework
No UK SME-specific AI build vs buy decision framework exists in the market today — which is why so many businesses get stuck. Hartz AI uses four criteria to guide the decision:
Process Uniqueness
If your workflow is genuinely distinct from competitors, off-the-shelf tools create more friction than they solve. Build when your process is your advantage.
Data Sensitivity
UK GDPR compliance sometimes requires bespoke solutions. Generic AI may not meet data handling requirements for regulated sectors.
Integration Complexity
When the solution needs to connect deeply with your existing CRM, ERP or proprietary systems, custom development avoids the limitations of standard connectors.
Long-Term Cost
The custom vs SaaS cost comparison shifts over time. SaaS subscriptions compound, while a custom AI development project costing £15-30k can pay for itself within 12-18 months compared to per-seat licensing at scale.
An AI buy vs build checklist for UK SMEs
If you answer 'yes' to two or more of these, building custom AI is worth exploring: your process cannot be replicated in standard tools; your data has regulatory constraints; you need deep integration with existing systems; and the maintenance costs of SaaS licensing exceed the build cost within two years.
Not sure where you fall? An AI consultancy session can help you define your build vs buy strategy before committing to implementation.
Once you have decided what to build — and confirmed it cannot be bought — the next challenge is integrating that solution into the workflows and systems your team already uses every day.
How Does AI Integrate With Your Existing Business Workflows?
AI process automation for UK businesses works best when it builds on existing systems rather than replacing them. Most SMEs already use Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, CRM platforms and accounting software. AI integration services connect these tools with intelligent workflow integration and automation — reducing manual handoffs, document processing time and back office automation.
Phased Integration Over Big-Bang Migration
The biggest fear SMEs express about AI workflow automation is disrupting systems that already work. Hartz AI addresses this with phased integration: start with one process, prove it works, then expand. This approach is fundamentally different from RPA vs AI automation debates, which often assume wholesale process replacement. AI for business processes in the UK works best when it augments existing workflows rather than rebuilding them from scratch.
Common Integration Patterns for SMEs
AI integration services for UK SMEs typically follow three patterns: document processing pipelines that extract and structure data from incoming files; workflow automation that connects tools with intelligent routing and decision logic; and analysis systems that process large volumes of structured data to surface actionable insights. University of St Andrews research across approximately 10,000 UK SMEs found that AI adoption increases productivity by 27-133% depending on the use case and sector.
Getting integration right technically is only half the challenge. The harder question — the one that determines whether your project joins the 70% that fail or the 30% that succeed — is how you manage the implementation process itself.
Why Do Most AI Projects Fail — and How Do SMEs Beat the Odds?
The AI implementation failure rate is widely cited at 70-85% across industries. For UK businesses, this statistic creates real anxiety — particularly for SMEs investing limited budgets. But the failure rate tells you more about how most projects are run than about whether AI implementation itself works. The AI implementation success factors are well understood; most organisations simply do not follow them.
The Three Reasons AI Projects Stall
Research consistently identifies three root causes when asking why AI projects fail in UK businesses. First, organisations skip the strategy phase and jump straight to tools — implementing AI without a clear problem definition. Second, data quality is poor or inaccessible, meaning the AI has nothing reliable to work with. Third, teams are not involved in the design process, so the finished system does not fit how people actually work. An AI implementation checklist that addresses all three dramatically improves your odds.
From Pilot to Production: A Phased Approach
The journey from AI pilot to production is where most UK SME projects stall. A proof of concept works in isolation, but scaling it into daily operations requires integration, training and governance that many organisations underestimate. Hartz AI structures every project in three phases: discovery (map the process and define success criteria), pilot (build and test with a small team), and scale (roll out with documentation and training). This phased approach means you evaluate real results before committing further budget.
Companies working with an AI consultant are 33% more likely to outperform competitors on AI initiatives (industry data). For teams ready to put implementation into practice, AI training prepares your people to use, maintain and improve the systems we build together.
Building the right project with the right process dramatically improves your odds — and for many UK SMEs, there is funding available that can reduce the financial risk of getting started.
What AI Grants and Funding Are Available for UK SMEs?
AI implementation costs for UK SMEs range from £1,500 for starter projects to £50,000+ for complex custom development (Mole Valley Chamber of Commerce). Government AI support for UK SMEs can significantly reduce this cost — but awareness remains low. Many business owners we speak to had no idea that public funding for AI development existed.
Innovate UK and BridgeAI
The Alan Turing Institute offers free bespoke AI advice for SMEs through the Innovate UK BridgeAI programme (Gov.uk). This government-backed initiative connects businesses with AI expertise and can fund feasibility studies and initial development work. Innovate UK AI funding in 2026 continues to prioritise SME adoption, though competition for grants is increasing. The grant application process can be complex — Hartz AI helps clients prepare strong applications as part of our AI academy workshops.
R&D Tax Credits for AI Projects
AI development funding for UK businesses is not limited to grants. R&D tax credits can offset a significant portion of AI development costs, including staff time spent on implementation, testing and iteration. If your project involves building something genuinely novel — not just configuring existing tools — it likely qualifies for relief under HMRC's enhanced R&D scheme. AI grants for UK SMEs combined with tax relief can make implementation projects substantially more affordable than most businesses expect.
What Kind Of AI Solutions Does Hartz AI Build?
Implementation work can be small and focused or broader and more ambitious. These patterns cover the most common ways we work with SMEs to get AI into real workflows.
Rapid AI Pilots
Short, focused projects that test a specific AI use case with a small team, so you can learn quickly and reduce risk before scaling.
- Define a clear question, process, or use case to test.
- Build a simple but real workflow or prototype.
- Evaluate impact and decide whether to scale, adjust, or stop.
AI Workflow Automation Projects
Projects that design and implement AI powered workflows across teams or functions, usually connecting multiple tools and steps.
- Map current and desired processes with your teams.
- Design AI infused workflows that reduce manual effort.
- Implement, test, and refine with real users.
AI Tool Rollouts And Integrations
Structured rollouts of AI powered tools and platforms, supported by sensible governance, training, and change management.
- Choose the right tools based on your context, not trends.
- Plan phased rollouts that give teams time to adapt.
- Integrate tools with existing systems where possible.
Will My Team Be Able To Run It Independently?
Implementation is the bridge between planning and long term capability. It connects what you have learned and decided with how people actually work day to day.
Learn And Align
Use AI training to build shared understanding and get teams comfortable with AI concepts and tools.
AI TrainingDecide And Prioritise
Use AI consultancy to decide where AI can add the most value and which projects to focus on first.
AI ConsultancyImplement And Prove
Use AI implementation projects to build real workflows, run pilots, and prove value with teams.
AI ImplementationScale And Specialise
Move into bespoke AI solutions and champion programmes to scale what works and embed capability.
Bespoke AI SolutionsLearn And Align
Use AI training to build shared understanding and get teams comfortable with AI concepts and tools.
AI TrainingDecide And Prioritise
Use AI consultancy to decide where AI can add the most value and which projects to focus on first.
AI ConsultancyImplement And Prove
Use AI implementation projects to build real workflows, run pilots, and prove value with teams.
AI ImplementationScale And Specialise
Move into bespoke AI solutions and champion programmes to scale what works and embed capability.
Bespoke AI SolutionsWhat Do Organisations Gain From AI Implementation?
AI implementation is where the value starts to show up in day to day work. It is also where trust is built, because people can see and feel the difference.
- Real workflows that save time, reduce errors, or improve quality.
- Better adoption because teams are involved in design and testing.
- Clearer evidence about what works and what does not before scaling.
- Foundations for bespoke systems that can be built on top of proven patterns.
Is An Implementation Project The Right Next Step?
AI implementation is usually the right next move if:
- You can name a specific process or journey that AI could realistically improve.
- You have at least one team who is open to trying something new.
- You want to learn through doing, not just more analysis.
- You are prepared to give a project the time and attention it needs to work.
If you have multiple ideas and are not sure which to start with, we can help you shape a sensible project during an initial consultancy conversation.
FAQs About AI Implementation
What Do People Ask About AI Implementation?
These questions cover how we think about implementation, how projects are scoped, and how we work with your teams.
Consultancy defines what to build. Implementation builds it.
If you are not yet sure which processes to target or which AI approach makes sense, consultancy gives you the strategic clarity that makes implementation projects succeed from the start.
Explore AI ConsultancyYour team needs to use what we build.
Every implementation project works better when your people understand AI fundamentals. Training ensures your team can use, maintain, and improve the systems we build together.
Explore AI TrainingBespoke AI Solutions
Coming soonWhen implementation proves value, bespoke solutions take it further with custom-built AI systems designed specifically for your organisation.
Make AI real in how you work
Ready To Turn AI Ideas Into Working Workflows?
If you are ready to move beyond conversation and pilots that never quite land, we can help you scope and deliver AI implementation projects that fit your organisation and give your teams something solid to build on.