Too many options, no time
New AI tools launch every week. You're running a business, not evaluating software all day.
AI integration for small & medium businesses
Real AI, working inside the business you already run.
No dev team, no innovation lab, no six-figure retainer. We come in, learn your tools, and hand you working AI that fits how you already operate — running in your cloud, your server room, or entirely offline if your work demands it.
- 2–4 wks
- From first call to a system in production
- Fixed
- One price, quoted before work starts
- $0
- Retainer — you own everything at handover
- On-prem
- Available when your data can't leave
You don't need another tool. You need someone to make the tools you have actually work.
Small businesses aren't short of AI products. They're short of anyone who will connect one to the way the business actually runs.
Enterprise pricing, small business budget
Most AI consultancies are built for companies ten times your size, with quotes to match.
DIY tools that don't talk to each other
A chatbot bolted onto your website isn't integration. It doesn't know your inventory, your calendar, or your customers.
Three steps. No jargon, no lock-in.
Every engagement follows the same path, and you can stop after the first step owing nothing.
01
Free AI audit
We spend an hour with you and your team to find the three or four places AI can save real time or money — no sales pitch.
02
Build it into your tools
We connect AI directly to the software you already use — your point of sale, inbox, spreadsheets, scheduling — nothing to rip out.
03
Train your team & hand it off
We show your team how to run and adjust it themselves. No retainer required to keep it working.
Where your data goes
Some things should never leave the building.
Drawings, formulas, client files, bid pricing, patient records, source code. If sending those to someone else's servers is a problem — legally, competitively, or because you simply don't want to — that isn't a reason to skip AI. It's a reason to build it differently.
Standard
Your cloud accounts
Built on commercial AI services under your own contracts and keys, with business terms that keep your data out of model training. Fastest and cheapest to run.
Right for most everyday work — scheduling, email, reporting, general admin.
Private
Isolated infrastructure
Open models running on hardware rented in your name, in a region you choose. No shared tenancy, no third-party vendor holding your prompts, full logs of every request.
Right when contracts or clients restrict where data may be processed.
On-premises
Your building, your hardware
The model runs on a machine you own, on your own network — disconnected from the internet entirely if you want it that way. Nothing is transmitted, because there is nowhere for it to go.
Right for trade secrets, proprietary designs, and work under confidentiality obligations you can't delegate.
Why this matters more than it used to
Every AI tool your staff signs up for is another copy of your work sitting on a server you've never seen, under terms you didn't read. For most businesses that's an acceptable trade. For a machine shop with proprietary tooling, a firm under client confidentiality, or anyone with a competitor who'd pay for a look at their files, it isn't.
You don't have to choose blind
Part of the free audit is working out which of your workflows genuinely need to stay in-house and which don't. Usually it's a split — the scheduling assistant can live in the cloud while the drawings never leave the shop. We'll tell you where the line is rather than selling you the expensive option by default.
Why M Kiln AI
Built for businesses without a tech team — including the ones who can't send data anywhere.
We're not a big-firm AI practice with a small-business afterthought. Every engagement is scoped, priced, and delivered for teams under 50 people — and when the work is confidential, we build it to run on your own hardware instead of talking you out of it.
- Fixed price per project, quoted after the free audit — never a surprise invoice
- Cloud, private, or fully on-premises — your data goes exactly as far as you allow
- Typically live in 2–4 weeks, not a multi-quarter rollout
Pricing
Fixed price, quoted after the audit.
You'll know the number before any work starts, and the audit itself costs nothing.
Starter
$1,500
One workflow automated end-to-end — e.g. inbox triage or appointment follow-up.
Most common
$4,000
2–3 connected workflows across your existing tools, plus team training.
On-premises & custom
Quoted
Self-hosted or air-gapped deployments, and multi-location rollouts. Hardware costs quoted separately, at cost.
Questions we get asked
Can AI run without sending our data to the cloud?
Yes. Open models can run on hardware you own, on your own network, disconnected from the internet entirely if you want. Nothing is transmitted because there is nowhere for it to go. This is the right choice for proprietary designs, trade secrets, bid pricing, and work under client confidentiality obligations you cannot delegate.
How much does AI integration cost for a small business?
We charge a fixed price per project, quoted after a free audit. A single automated workflow starts at $1,500. Two to three connected workflows with team training is typically $4,000. On-premises and multi-location deployments are quoted individually, with hardware billed separately at cost. There is no retainer.
How long does it take to get AI working in a small business?
Most projects go live in two to four weeks. The free audit takes 30 to 60 minutes, scoping and a fixed quote take two to three days, the build takes one to three weeks, and go-live plus team training takes two to three days. Thirty days of support after launch is included.
Do we need to replace our existing software to use AI?
No. We connect AI to the software you already pay for — your point of sale, inbox, spreadsheets, scheduling, and accounting tools. If the fix is a setting in software you already own, that's what we'll tell you.
Who owns the AI system after the project ends?
You do. The system runs in your own accounts under your own logins, with plain-English documentation, a recorded walkthrough, and the ability to hand it to any other developer without asking us first. No vendor lock-in and no retainer required to keep it running.
Not sure where AI would even help?
Answer six questions and get a personalized audit in about a minute — free, no obligation.
Prefer to talk? Call (680) 271-4201 or email contact@mkilnai.com