It waits for a person.
Someone has to open it, paste, check and repeat.
Services
From AI tools to agents that run on their own.
Most AI still waits for someone to press go. We help you climb, one step at a time, to agents that know your business, pass checks, run on schedule and answer to an owner. Then we keep them running.
AI Readiness Audit: a fixed-scope review of every AI tool and agent you run, in about 2 weeks, with a plan you keep.
Most AI still runs by hand.
It stops when they do.
Vacation, sick day, new job: the work goes with them.
Nobody has the full list.
Which agents run, who owns them, and what they can reach.
A bigger model won't fix that. Getting the unglamorous middle right will: agents that run on their own, with rules.
The AI Readiness Ladder
Five steps from AI tools to agents that work as a team. Each step rests on the one below. Skipped steps are where agents go bad. Tap a step to see what it looks like.
Pick a step above to see what it looks like, what goes wrong if you skip it, and how we help.
Adapted from Mark Ajzenstadt's seven steps from AI tool adoption to an agentic org (@mardehaym on X). We merged and renamed the steps to fit how we work.
How ready is your AI?
Six yes/no questions. We'll place you on the ladder and suggest a next step. Your answers stay in your browser unless you email them.
Services for every step
Start with an AI Readiness Audit, or go straight to your step. Every project has a clear finish line.
Start here · any step
AI Readiness Audit
For anyone unsure where they stand or what to fix first.
- A list of every AI tool, automation and agent: who runs it, where it runs, what it can reach.
- Your step on the ladder, team by team.
- Top risks: work that depends on one person, API keys with no owner, agents nobody uses.
- Your first workflow to move (for example, answering new enquiries), scoped.
Ends with a written report and a readout with your team. The plan is yours, whether or not you hire us.
Fixed scope, about 2 weeks. Pricing tailored to each client, agreed before we start.
Start with an AI Readiness AuditStep 2 · Grounded
Ground & Test
For AI that makes things up, can't show it's right, or would break if the model changed.
- Approved sources connected, with access set by team.
- A test set built from your real emails, tickets or questions, with pass marks.
- Routing, so each job uses the right model.
- A model swap test, run in front of you.
Ends when agents pass the agreed tests. You get the scorecard and the docs.
Pricing tailored to each client. Quoted after the AI Readiness Audit, before any work starts.
Ask about Ground & Test →Step 3 · Always on
Go Always-On
For useful automations that only run when someone runs them.
- Chosen workflows hosted in your cloud or ours, running on schedules or triggers.
- Alerts when something fails, and a log of every run.
- Keys moved out of personal accounts into a vault.
- A one-page runbook per agent: what it does, who owns it, how to pause it.
Ends when each agent has run on its own for 2 weeks and your team has the runbooks.
Pricing tailored to each client. Quoted after the AI Readiness Audit, before any work starts.
Ask about Go Always-On →Step 4 · Governed
Governance Setup
For teams that can't list every agent and what it can reach, or where security has started asking.
- An agent registry: owner, purpose, access, keys and review date for each agent.
- Access by role, so agents see only what their team should.
- Scheduled key rotation and regular reviews.
- Rules that retire agents that go unused or fail their tests.
Ends when every agent has an owner and a review date, the first retirements are done, and your team signs off the policy.
Pricing tailored to each client. Quoted after the AI Readiness Audit, before any work starts.
Ask about Governance Setup →Step 5 · Orchestrated
Agent Teams
For teams with several always-on agents where a person still passes work between them.
- A handoff map: who does what, and what "done" means at each step.
- An AI reviewer and clear rules at every handoff.
- One end-to-end flow live, for example answer, book, follow up.
- An exceptions queue that gives your people the context to decide fast.
Ends when the flow runs end to end on live work and exceptions reach named people.
Pricing tailored to each client. Quoted after the AI Readiness Audit, before any work starts.
Ask about Agent Teams →Ongoing · any step
Agent Care
For teams that want agents kept running without hiring a platform team.
- Monitoring and fixes. Support responds within 24 hours.
- Tests re-run on every change and every model update.
- Key rotation, access reviews, and retiring what's no longer needed.
- A plain monthly report: what ran, what broke, what we fixed, what we retired.
Month to month with 30 days' notice. You keep all code, docs and runbooks, and we hand back or rotate every key.
Monthly. Pricing tailored to each client.
Ask about Agent Care →How we work
- One workflow first. We take one workflow up the ladder, prove it works, then repeat.
- Any model. Tests show whether a new model works before you switch.
- Yours to keep. Your code, your keys, your docs.
- People make the judgment calls. Agents take the routine work. Your people take the customers and the hard cases.
- Zero surprises. Fixed scopes, plain reports, clear communication.
We run this ourselves.
Our own agents run scheduled checks, send digests, take backups, hand off work, rotate keys and retire old projects. We build for you what we rely on.
A boutique team of senior engineers and AI specialists, building and running mission-critical platforms for brands across North America since 2012. About us
Trusted by
Questions
We're a small team. Is this for us?
Yes. Same ladder, smaller steps. For a small team, Grounded can mean one clean source and a short list of tests, and Agent Care keeps it running without a new hire. Want to try it yourself first? Our Agent Skills are free.
Is this a big transformation program?
No. We start with one workflow, take it up the ladder, and prove it works before doing more. Every project has a finish line.
Where are your case studies?
Our agent work is new, so we don't have client results to share yet. You get a senior team with a long record of running critical platforms, and the AI Readiness Audit is a small, fixed-scope way to judge us.
Isn't it risky to let agents run alone?
That's why tests come before Always on. Every agent gets a log, an owner, limits, a review date and a pause switch, and there's a check at every handoff. People make the judgment calls.
Will we be locked in, to you or to one model?
No. Tests show whether a new model works before you switch. Agent Care is month to month, and you keep the code, docs and runbooks.
Where does our data go?
Access is set by role, keys sit in a vault and get rotated, and we host wherever you're most comfortable: your cloud, your region, or ours. We sign your NDA and DPA, and we work within your security review.
Our team can build this. Why hire you?
Maybe you don't need to. The plan from an AI Readiness Audit is yours to run. We can also build alongside your team and hand over.
What does it cost?
Pricing is tailored to each client. We quote after the AI Readiness Audit, before any work starts, with no surprises.
Not sure where you stand? Start with an AI Readiness Audit.
Fixed scope. A plan you keep, whether or not you work with us.
Opens an email to [email protected]. We reply within 24 hours. Or call 416-820-2334.
Based in Canada, serving North America. Rather start on your own? Try our free Agent Skills.