AI Consultancy · East Midlands

Less Artificial. More Intelligence.

Practical AI for East Midlands businesses. Real tools that save you time and money — explained in plain English, delivered by a human who's actually done it.

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AI is everywhere. Useful AI is harder to find.

Every week there's a new tool promising to revolutionise your business. Most of them are expensive, complicated, and built for companies with dedicated IT departments.

You're running a business. You don't need more software subscriptions — you need AI that fits around how you already work, solves a real problem, and doesn't take six months to set up.

That's all we do. Find where AI genuinely helps, implement it properly, and make sure you can actually use it. No hype. No jargon. No hard sell.

20+
years delivering tech projects
Free
first consultation, always
Real
results in live businesses
EM
based in Nottingham

Four ways we can help

We keep it simple. Every engagement starts with a free conversation and goes wherever it needs to from there.

01 Always free

AI Discovery

A no-obligation 45-minute conversation about your business. We'll identify where AI can genuinely help, what tools are worth your time, and what to ignore. No hard sell. No commitment. Just a straight answer.

02 Fixed fee

AI Quick Win

One specific problem. One focused session. One working solution. We find something AI can fix fast — saving you hours every week — and we make it happen. Scoped and quoted upfront, no surprises.

03 Scoped & quoted

AI Implementation

When you're ready for something bigger. We assess, plan, build and deploy the right AI tools for your business — full project delivery from scoping to handover, including training, so it actually gets used.

04 Monthly

AI Retainer

AI moves fast. A monthly retainer means you always have someone who knows your business, your tools, and what's actually worth paying attention to. Keep moving without the headache.

Three steps. No drama.

We don't do 12-week discovery phases or 40-page strategy documents. We find the opportunity and make it happen.

01

Tell us about your business

Book a free chat. No preparation needed. Just talk to us about how your business works, what eats your time, and what keeps you up at night.

02

We find the opportunity

We identify where AI can make a genuine difference — not everything, just the stuff that'll actually move the needle for you. We tell you what's realistic and what isn't.

03

We make it happen

Quick win you can use tomorrow, or a bigger implementation — we get it working in the real world and make sure you and your team are comfortable using it.

A consultant who's actually done this.

Barely Artificial is based in Nottingham. We work with businesses across the East Midlands and beyond.

Our founder has 20+ years delivering complex technical projects for organisations including Disney, international broadcasters, healthcare providers and financial services firms. Not reading about AI from the sidelines — actually using it in live operational environments, with measurable results.

We're not a tech startup trying to sell you a subscription. We're not going to blind you with buzzwords or tell you you need £50,000 of infrastructure. We're going to have an honest conversation, find what's useful, and get it working.

That's it.

Delivery background

Full lifecycle project delivery from pre-sales through to commissioning, training and user adoption — across the UK, US, Europe and the Middle East.

AI in the real world

Currently leading practical AI adoption within an operational group, using AI to review, analyse and improve live workflows — with measurable, documented results.

Training & education

15+ years designing and delivering structured training programmes. We don't just implement tools — we make sure your team can actually use them.

Based in Nottingham

East Midlands first, but we work UK-wide. If you want someone local who'll come and sit with your team — that's us.

Sound familiar?

We work with businesses of all kinds. If any of these sound like you, we should talk.

Time-poor business owners

Spending hours on tasks that AI could handle in minutes — emails, reports, scheduling, data entry, content.

Curious but cautious

You've tried ChatGPT and found it interesting but aren't sure what else is possible or what's actually worth investing in.

Teams who need to upskill

You know AI is coming whether you're ready or not. You want your people trained and confident, not anxious or left behind.

East Midlands businesses

Local businesses who want local support — someone who can come in, understand the operation, and give a straight answer.

Questions worth asking

If you're still wondering, these come up a lot.

Not at all. We explain everything in plain English and only recommend tools that real people can actually use day-to-day. If something requires a computer science degree to operate, we won't recommend it.

The initial Discovery session is always free — no strings, no pitch at the end. Everything else is scoped and quoted clearly upfront. No hidden costs, no surprise invoices, no retainers you didn't agree to. We work at a rate that's accessible for small businesses, not enterprise day rates.

In our experience, the best use of AI is helping your existing team do their jobs better and faster — not replacing them. We focus on tools that free people up for the work that actually needs a human: the relationships, the judgement calls, the creative thinking. That's where the real value is.

Yes. We're based in the East Midlands but work with businesses across the UK. Remote sessions work perfectly for most of what we do — discovery, training, and ongoing support all translate well online. If you need someone on-site, we can discuss that too.

Genuinely any small or medium business. AI opportunities exist everywhere — customer service, marketing, admin, operations, sales, finance. We've applied AI in broadcast, healthcare, financial services, sport and government. If you're doing repetitive, information-heavy work, there's almost certainly something useful to find.

Ready to see what AI can actually do for your business?

Start with a free, no-obligation 45-minute conversation. No prep needed — just tell us about your business.

// paul@barelyartificial.com · Nottingham, East Midlands