Find out where AI actually helps.
We find the tasks eating the most time and pick the right tools for them. You leave with a clear plan.
Process review · Tool selection · Implementation roadmapAI CONSULTING, COACHING & CUSTOM SOLUTIONS
AI built alongside your team.
No tech team required.
I help small businesses set up AI that handles follow-ups, CRM upkeep, and repetitive tasks, then train your team to use it.
- Free
- AI Fit Check: 20 minutes, no prep needed
- 5 hrs/wk
- of savings found, or your $950 Assessment is refunded
- 8 yrs
- building business systems, from Salesforce to AI agents
- You decide
- what AI does on its own and what you approve
01 / SOUND FAMILIAR?
The busywork
never stops.
Most small business owners I talk to describe the same week. The work is good. The admin around it is eating the time.
- You answer the same customer questions every week, and each reply still takes ten minutes.
- Leads come in on a busy day, and nobody follows up until it’s too late.
- Your CRM is half up to date, so the real customer history lives in inboxes, texts and your memory.
- Your team digs through folders and old emails to find a policy, a price or a file.
- You’ve tried ChatGPT. It helps sometimes, but it doesn’t know your business and nobody uses it the same way twice.
- You know AI could help, but you don’t have a tech team or the hours to figure it all out yourself.
If two or more of these sound like your week, a free AI Fit Check is the right next step. It’s not a staffing problem. It’s a process problem, and that part can be fixed.
02 / WHAT I BUILD
AI does the busywork.
You approve it.
A few everyday tasks AI can take off your plate.
Illustrative applications, not client case studies.
CUSTOMER EMAIL
From inbox to done.
AI reads the email, checks your notes and drafts the reply. You hit approve.
Less sorting. Faster replies.
- You approve every reply
- Sources on every draft
- Records updated for you
- Email arrives: A question or request lands in your inbox or website form.
- AI reads it: AI figures out what they need, looks up their details in your notes and drafts a reply.
- You check: You glance at it, tweak if needed and hit approve. Nothing goes out without you.
- Customer hears back: The reply is sent and your records are updated the way you’ve agreed.
HOW IT WORKS
03 / WHAT I DO
Plan it, learn it,
or have me build it.
Pick one, or combine them as you grow.
Learn AI by using it on your own work.
Hands-on sessions built around your own work, so your team gets reliable results and catches AI’s mistakes.
Individual coaching · Team training · Repeatable workflowsTake repetitive work off your team’s plate.
AI agents that sort requests, look things up and draft next steps inside the tools you already use. Decisions stay with your team.
Custom AI agents · Automation · Integrations & APIsBuild tools that fit the way you work.
A CRM built around how your team works, a better setup for the one you have, or a custom website.
Custom & niche CRMs · CRM & Salesforce consulting · Custom websites04 / HOW TO START
Start with a free call.
Grow one workflow at a time.
Most AI projects stall because the AI doesn’t know your business. So we get your information in order first.
STEP 01
Free AI Fit Check
20 minutes on where your team loses time, and an honest answer on whether AI can help.
Free
BEFORE YOU START
STEP 02 · START HERE
Grounded Assessment
A discovery call, then a written plan in about two weeks.
$950credited in full toward a build you sign up for within 30 days
GATHER
STEP 03
Grounded Starter
Your first workflow, built and tested with your team.
$2,000with an Assessment ($2,950 without)
STRUCTURE → CONNECT → DEPLOY
STEP 04
Grow & keep it running
More workflows, monthly coaching, or care so it keeps working.
From $600/mofor AI Coaching; larger work by custom quote
SCALE & SUPPORT
What you leave the AI Fit Check with No prep needed. Just bring what’s eating your week.
- Where your team loses the most time
The one or two tasks costing you the most hours.
- Whether AI can realistically help
What AI can take over, what it should draft, and what stays human.
- A straight answer on fit
If an Assessment makes sense, I’ll say so. If not, I’ll say that too.
05 / SEE WHAT YOU GET
A plan you can act on,
not a slide deck of buzzwords.
Every Grounded Assessment ends with a written report built around your business.
- Your workflows, scored for what AI can take on
- Where your business information lives, and what to fix first
- Recommended tools with costs and time saved
- Your return in dollars, and a two-week quick start
Sample uses a fictional business.
06 / RIGHT FIT
Who this is for,
and who it isn’t.
This is for you if
- You run or manage a small or mid-size business without an in-house tech team.
- Your team loses hours each week to email, follow-up or keeping records up to date.
- You want your team to learn to use AI, not depend on someone else forever.
- You’re willing to start with one workflow and build from there.
- You want to run leaner and get more done without adding salaries and benefits.
Skip this if
- You want AI to make final decisions with no one checking its work.
- You expect AI to run itself, with no one on your team responsible for it.
- You’re after a one-time install with no follow-through.
- You’re shopping for an AI buzzword rather than a problem to solve.
What I won’t do
- Sell you software you don’t need.
- Hand you a slide deck and disappear.
- Let AI send anything you haven’t agreed it can send.
- Build something your team can’t understand or run.
07 / THE GROUNDWISE APPROACH
I build it with you,
then stick around.
Credentials & continued learning
Education
- Master of Business Administration (MBA)
Salesforce certifications
- Agentforce Specialist
- Platform Developer I
- Business Analyst
- Sales Cloud Consultant
- Advanced Administrator
- Platform App Builder
- Administrator
AI fluency
Tools I build with
- Claude Code
- Codex
- Cursor
Learning & AI certificates
- Claude 101 — certificate of completion
- Claude Code in Action — course certificate
- Claude Platform 101
- AI Fluency: AI Capabilities & Limitations
I’m Ryan Gaylord, the person behind GroundWise AI.
I sit down with you and your team, learn how your work actually gets done, and build tools that take the repetitive parts off your plate. Then I stick around to make sure they keep working.
I bring an MBA and eight years of Salesforce experience as an Administrator, Developer, and Business Analyst, so I can translate business goals into tools that work and keep people involved where their judgment matters.
Based in Middle Tennessee, working with small businesses anywhere.
01
Start with the problem.
Find out what’s eating your time and what “better” would look like.
02
Build with intention.
Automate what makes sense and keep people in charge of the rest.
03
Make it hold up.
Test it, write it down and fine-tune it so your team can rely on it.
FAQ
Common questions.
01How can a small business start using AI?
Start with one repetitive task that eats time every week, like answering common customer emails, following up on leads, or writing up meeting notes. Try a general AI assistant on that task first, check its work closely, and only automate further once the results are reliable. Starting small shows you where AI actually helps before you spend money on bigger tools.
02What tasks can AI realistically handle for my business?
AI is good at reading, sorting, summarizing, and drafting: triaging an inbox, drafting replies and follow-ups, pulling answers from your documents, updating records, and turning notes into next steps. It is less reliable at final decisions, pricing, or anything where a mistake is costly, so those should stay with a person who reviews what AI prepares.
03How can AI help with customer follow-up?
AI can capture new inquiries as they arrive, look up the customer’s history, draft a personal follow-up, and remind your team of the next step. You decide which messages a person approves before they go out and which routine ones, like a review request after a finished job, can be sent automatically. The result is faster replies and fewer leads that slip through the cracks, without adding staff.
04Do I need a tech team to use AI in my business?
No. Most small and mid-size businesses don’t have one, and that is who I work with. I help choose the tools, set them up, connect them to the apps you already use, and train your team, so you get the benefit without hiring developers or an IT department.
05Is it safe to use AI with customer data?
It can be, with the right setup. Your data stays out of AI model training wherever that option exists, each workflow only sees what it needs, and you decide which steps a person checks before anything happens. Here’s exactly how I handle your data (one-page PDF)
06When does a custom CRM make sense?
A custom CRM makes sense when off-the-shelf options force your team into workarounds, like tracking key details in spreadsheets, paying for features you never use, or skipping steps the software doesn’t support. If a standard CRM fits your process with light setup, it is usually the faster and cheaper choice.
07How do I get started with GroundWise?
Book a free AI Fit Check directly, or use the contact form or email hello@groundwiseai.com to tell me what you’re working on. We’ll discuss your goals and see whether I’m the right fit. A few sentences are enough to begin.
08What does it cost?
The AI Fit Check is free. A Grounded Assessment is $950, credited in full toward a build you sign up for within 30 days of your report review call. If the report doesn’t identify at least 5 hours a week of realistic time savings, I refund it in full (terms in your Assessment agreement). A Grounded Starter is $2,000 with an Assessment, or $2,950 without. AI Coaching starts at $600 a month. Larger work gets a custom quote. Small one-off jobs are billed by the hour, and I’ll send a quote before I start.
NOT READY TO TALK?
Get the free Grounded guide.
A practical guide to organizing your business information so AI gives answers about your business — with a 30-day plan, quick wins, and mistakes to avoid.
08 / LET’S BUILD
What’s eating
your week?
Bring one task that takes too much time. We’ll see if AI can take it off your plate.