Where should our organisation start with AI?

Start with the problems rather than the technology. Cross Digital begins by understanding where people lose time, where processes create friction, where data is difficult to use and where better customer or commercial outcomes could be created. The team can then decide whether AI is actually the right solution.

What happens in an AI Discovery Workshop?

Cross Digital works with relevant people across the organisation to understand processes, challenges, repetitive work, data and opportunities. The team then prioritises the areas most worth investigating and identifies practical next steps.

Can Cross Digital build the solution as well as advise us?

Yes. Where implementation is useful, Cross Digital can support rapid prototypes, integrations, automation, custom AI tools and software development. The team can also work with internal staff where an organisation prefers to develop capability itself.

How much does AI consultancy cost?

The initial 30-minute AI conversation is free. If a Discovery Workshop or further project looks useful, Cross Digital agrees the scope and price before starting any paid work.

Will our team still be able to manage what is built?

That is the aim. Cross Digital favours solutions that the organisation can understand and control. Where bespoke technology or intellectual property is involved, ownership, access and ongoing responsibilities are agreed clearly before development starts.

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AI Strategy & Practical Implementation

Find where AI can actually make a difference.

Q: Do we need to buy new AI software?

Not necessarily. An existing product, an integration, a change to a process or a tool you already pay for may solve the problem. Cross Digital favours practical solutions over introducing unnecessary software.

You do not need to begin by buying an expensive AI tool, commissioning bespoke software or paying for ChatGPT or Claude.

Start with your people and processes. Take time to understand where the problems really are, then work out what can be removed, simplified or improved before deciding whether AI is needed at all.

Book A Call See Our Approach

Leave the first call with a clearer next step.

We will help you frame the problem, test whether AI is relevant and decide what is worth investigating next. If there is nothing useful to pursue, we will say so.

01 Find the opportunity

Where is the real opportunity?

We start with the bugbears people already recognise and group them into three places to look: time, data, and customers or revenue. These are not solutions. They help us decide which problem is worth solving first.

Time

Where are people losing time to repetitive, manual or frustrating work?

Data

Where is useful information difficult to collect, find, connect or act on?

Customers & revenue

Where do customers get stuck, wait too long or miss opportunities to buy?

02 Challenge the process

Improve the process before choosing the technology.

Once we know which problem matters, we challenge the process in this order. That stops us automating work that should be removed or simplified.

Remove

Does this work need to happen at all?

Simplify

Can we reduce the steps, handovers or decisions?

Accelerate

What would help this move faster without adding complexity?

Automate last

Could technology now take on part of the work reliably?

03 Test and deliver

Discover. Define. Develop. Deliver.

Once the problem is clear and the process has been challenged, we use the Double Diamond to explore options, test what works and deliver the right response.

Cross Digital workshop with members of a client team — Start with the people who understand the problem.

Discover

Talk to the people doing the work.

Define

Narrow it down to the problem worth solving.

Develop

Try different ideas and prototype quickly.

Deliver

Pick what works, test it and launch.

Approach based on the Design Council Double Diamond .

What we can do

From a focused workshop to practical implementation.

Some clients need a workshop and a clear route forward. Others need a prototype, integration or hands-on support. We tailor the engagement to what the problem actually requires.

Discovery workshops

Get the right people in the room and uncover the real pain points and opportunities.

Process & opportunity review

Find what should be removed, simplified, improved or potentially automated.

AI strategy

Turn broad ideas and budget into clear priorities and sensible next steps.

Tools & integrations

Use existing products, APIs and automation before building something expensive.

Prototypes & custom AI

Build and test useful internal or customer-facing tools quickly.

Training & support

Help your team learn how to use and develop the capability themselves.

Practical experience

We use this approach in our own businesses.

We use AI in our own products and internal workflows. This keeps our advice practical and makes us cautious about adding technology where it is not needed.

Digital product and technology work on a computer

Confirmed Carers AI-assisted development of a functioning care marketplace.

MerchantAI AI chatbot and ecommerce product development.

Our own tools Companies House APIs, marketing systems, research, reporting and custom ChatGPT and Claude workflows.

Selected clients, products and partners

Questions

A few things people ask us.

What happens on the first call?

We will use the 30 minutes to frame the problem, test whether AI is relevant and identify the most sensible next step. If there is nothing worth pursuing, we will say so.

Where should we start with AI?

Start with the problem. We look at where people lose time, where processes cause frustration, where data is not being used well and where there may be a commercial opportunity. Then we decide whether AI is actually needed.

Do we need to buy new AI software?

Not necessarily. We would rather use a simple existing tool, improve the process or remove unnecessary work than introduce an expensive new system for the sake of it.

Can you build something for us?

Yes. We can prototype and build custom AI tools, software, APIs, integrations and automation where there is a clear reason to do so.

Can our own team be involved?

Absolutely. We want your people to understand what is being done and build their own capability rather than become unnecessarily dependent on us.

Toby Venning and Caleb Adamu from Cross Digital — **Toby Venning & Caleb Adamu** Strategy, product and technical implementation

Start with a conversation

Not sure where to start? Book a call.

Bring us one process, frustration or opportunity you think may be worth improving. We will help you decide what to examine next and whether AI belongs in the answer.

What is the problem worth solving?
Does AI have a useful role?
What is the smallest sensible next step?

Book A Call