AI Consulting Sydney
An implementation shop that happens to consult. Not the other way around.
- Rebuilt a substantial share of our own operation around AI in the last 18 months
- Claude, Cursor, and Cloudflare Workers AI running in production on our own stack
- Honest answer on what is real AI versus marketing AI in your business
The AI consulting industry is mostly talkers
Type “AI consultant” into LinkedIn and you will get 5,000 people who updated their job title in 2023 and started posting about ChatGPT prompts. A meaningful percentage have never built an AI feature, deployed an AI system to production, or written a line of code that called an LLM API. The AI consulting market is saturated with commentary and thin on implementation.
We are an implementation shop that happens to have rebuilt a substantial share of our own operation around AI tools over the last eighteen months. Not because we wanted to add “AI Consulting” to the service menu. Because the tools became genuinely useful for real work, and using them made us better at the work we were already doing.
Everything we consult on, we run in production ourselves. That is the only version of AI consulting worth paying for. Run by Click Click Media with our engineering arm Paladine Systems, Norwest office, in-house team that uses Claude, Cursor, and Cloudflare Workers AI on our own daily work, not just our clients’.
What we actually run on AI internally
Before we tell you how to use AI, here is how we use it. These are production systems, running today, on our own stack and our own clients’ work.
Claude for substantial engineering work
Claude Code and Cursor integrated into the dev workflow for Paladine Systems. Not “AI wrote the app.” Claude as a capable pair programmer for spec-driven implementation, refactor work, debug assistance, and documentation generation, with humans making the architecture decisions. Some of our developers run 4 or more parallel Claude Code instances daily.
Cloudflare Workers AI and Vectorize for semantic content
Our related-posts system uses vector embeddings to find genuinely related content, rather than tag-based matching. You can see it running at the bottom of this page — the “more insights” recommendations are generated semantically based on what this page is actually about. Qualitatively better than the manual-categorisation version we had before, and running on Cloudflare’s edge so it is fast.
Custom Laravel integrations with LLM APIs
For specific business tools we have built internally. Sprint Engine, our internal SEO workflow platform, uses Claude for certain analysis tasks. The Attention Calculator we built uses Claude Haiku for personalised portrait generation at scale. Built on Laravel, deployed on Cloudflare Workers, designed to stay profitable at LLM-cost scale.
Structured data pipelines through AI
Automated content tagging, summarisation, entity extraction from unstructured client data, feeding into systems we already ran manually. The grunt work is AI-accelerated. Human review and finalisation before anything client-facing.
Agentic workflows for research-intensive tasks
Competitive analysis, content gap analysis, initial audit findings. We analysed customer sentiment from over 10,000 emails for one client to reshape their entire content strategy. Our track record is published here.
Who benefits from AI consulting
AI consulting is not about technology for its own sake. It is about removing friction in the parts of your business where AI is genuinely better than the alternative, and being honest about the parts where it is not.
What our AI consulting covers
AI strategy and operational assessment
We audit your operations, identify repetitive tasks, data bottlenecks, and decision-making gaps, then map out where AI creates the highest ROI. You receive a written assessment with a prioritised roadmap, realistic timelines, and expected impact. If AI is not the right answer for a particular problem, we will tell you. The assessment is a deliverable in its own right, actionable with us or any other team.
AI integration architecture
Connecting reporting, automation, analytics, and content workflows so AI is not a separate silo. Custom prompts built for your specific business data. Workflow automation setup across email, content, reporting, and campaigns. Data privacy assessment of which tools train on your data and which do not.
AI education and team training
Your team does not need to become data scientists. They need to understand what AI can and cannot do, how to use it safely, and where it creates leverage in their role. Practical sessions, not academic lectures. Covers Claude, Gemini, ChatGPT, and the specialist tools relevant to your industry.
Marketing and SEO automation with AI
SEO content generation, ad creative testing, audience segmentation, predictive bidding, and customer sentiment analysis. We use these workflows on our own client campaigns daily, so we know which prompting patterns actually produce ranking content versus generic filler. Connects directly with our SEO, Google Ads, and Meta Ads services.
On-premise and private AI deployment
For businesses handling sensitive data that cannot leave their environment, we deploy open-source models like Llama, Qwen, and Mistral on your own infrastructure. Full data sovereignty. No third-party model training on your data. Compliance with Australian Privacy Principles. Architecture, hardware sizing, and ongoing operations included.
Custom AI tools and integrations
When off-the-shelf AI is not enough, our Paladine Systems team builds custom solutions: AI chatbots, predictive models, automated reporting, agentic research workflows, and natural language processing applications built specifically for your business. Engineered to stay profitable at LLM-cost scale, not just demo-ready. If you have a vibe-coded AI prototype that has hit production limits, see Vibe Code Rescue.
AI Consulting Pricing
AI consulting pricing in daylight, because the LinkedIn version of this industry has lost touch with what work actually costs. The ranges below are real, indicative, and based on actual engagement scope.
AI strategy and operational assessment: from $3,500 + GST, fixed-price (1-2 weeks). A written audit with prioritised AI opportunities, realistic timelines, expected impact, and a fixed-price quote for any implementation work. The assessment is a deliverable on its own. You can action it with us, with another team, or use it to make an internal investment case.
Implementation engagement (typically 4-8 weeks): commonly $10,000 to $40,000 + GST depending on scope. Covers tool selection, prompt engineering, workflow integration, data pipeline setup, and team training to the point your team is operating independently with AI.
Custom AI tool builds (via Paladine Systems): typically $15,000 to $60,000+ + GST depending on complexity, integrations, and whether the system needs to scale to production-level LLM costs. Includes architecture, build, evaluation framework, and handover.
On-premise model deployment (Llama, Qwen, Mistral): typically $20,000 to $80,000 + GST depending on hardware, model size, and integration depth. Hardware sourcing and ongoing operations available separately.
Ongoing AI partnership: from $4,500 + GST per month, scaling with hours and scope. Includes prompt iteration, evaluation framework maintenance, model upgrades as new versions release, and integration with broader marketing or product work.
We have built production AI applications for clients where the LLM costs alone needed serious engineering to stay profitable, and we have told businesses that the “AI opportunity” they had been pitched was marketing, not an opportunity. Both were valuable conversations.
The engineer scoping your AI work is the one writing the prompts and the evaluation framework. We care about the system producing real value at month six, not just demo-ready output at month one. Our honest view is that AI is real for 2 to 5 places in your business and marketing for the other 20 to 50. We will tell you which.
All pricing is indicative and exclusive of GST. No lock-in contracts. Month-to-month from day one.
Why work with us on AI
Choosing an AI consulting partner is not about who can quote the latest paper from arXiv. It is about who has actually shipped AI to production and stayed profitable doing it.
We use AI ourselves before recommending it to anyone
Claude Code in our development workflow. Cloudflare Workers AI in our production blog system. Custom Laravel integrations in our internal SEO platform. Claude Haiku in the Attention Calculator. We do not consult on tools we have not run in production ourselves. When we recommend a workflow, it is because we have already debugged it on our own stack.
Honest about what is real AI versus marketing AI
Our honest view: AI is genuinely transformative for 2 to 5 places in your business and marketing for the other 20 to 50. We will tell you which is which, scope only the parts that produce real value, and decline the parts where AI is being sold to you because the vendor needs to add “AI” to their product page.
Strategy first, tools second, vendor last
Most AI projects fail because businesses start with a tool and try to find a problem for it. We start with your operations, your bottlenecks, and your goals, then match the right AI approach to the right problem. Sometimes Claude. Sometimes ChatGPT. Sometimes an on-premise Llama deployment. Sometimes the answer is “configure the tools you already pay for properly.” We are platform-agnostic and recommend what fits.
Full-service integration, not standalone advice
AI consulting from an agency that also runs web design, development, SEO, and paid media means your AI strategy connects to your digital strategy, your website, and your customer journey from day one. Not a separate silo with a separate vendor producing slides nobody reads.
Month-to-month, no lock-in
No lock-in contracts. No exit fees. 92% client retention because we earn the next month, every month. The AI strategist advising you in month one is the same person measuring impact in month twelve.
What is included
Every AI consulting engagement includes the foundations for practical, measurable AI implementation.
- Operational audit and AI opportunity assessment: identify where AI creates the highest ROI in your business, and where it does not.
- Platform recommendation: Claude, Gemini, ChatGPT, or on-premise models matched to your data sensitivity, budget, and use case.
- Custom prompt engineering and evaluation framework: prompts built for your specific business data with a way to measure whether they actually work.
- Workflow automation setup: email, content, reporting, and campaign workflows powered by AI and connected to your existing systems.
- Team training and education: practical sessions that get your team using AI tools confidently from week one.
- Data privacy assessment: audit of which tools train on your data, which do not, and where on-premise deployment is warranted.
- Custom AI tool development: by Paladine Systems when off-the-shelf is not enough, engineered to stay profitable at LLM-cost scale.
- Measurement and iteration: tracking from day one, ongoing prompt and workflow optimisation as model versions and business needs evolve.
Latest reviews
Last updated: April 28, 2026
Meet our AI consulting team
Your AI strategy is shaped by the same team that runs Claude, Cursor, and Cloudflare Workers AI on our own daily work. Norwest office, in-house, no offshore handoffs.
Rik Allison
Senior Manager | Website Projects
With 8 years at Click Click Media, Rik is known for getting complex builds live without the drama – scoping clean, shipping clean, and keeping scope creep firmly in a jar. A veteran of major IT infrastructure initiatives, including the Opal card rollout, Rik brings rock-solid discipline and experience to every project. His steady hand ensures websites are delivered on time, on budget, and to the highest standards.
Nicolas Wendell
Managing Director | Paladine Systems
Nicolas has been building custom software since leaving school, bringing a lifelong passion for development to every project. Before founding Paladine Systems, he ran his own video game studio and earned multiple accolades in network engineering. Known as a driving force in the custom software world, Nicolas combines deep technical expertise with visionary leadership – guiding Paladine in delivering innovative, enterprise-grade solutions.
Mark Morcom
Full-Stack Software Developer
Mark is a young prodigy in software development, bringing 5 years of experience to Paladine. Equally at home on the front end and back end, he crafts clean, scalable solutions that power complex applications. Mark’s sharp problem-solving skills and passion for innovation make him a driving force behind Paladine’s most advanced projects.
Phillip Wendell
Managing Director | Click Click Media
Phil leads client strategy and drives commercial outcomes at Click Click Media, ensuring every service line – including SEO – is tightly aligned with business KPIs. A process-focused engineer at heart, he thrives on building long-term relationships that deliver lasting results. Over the past decade, Phil has partnered closely with more than 20 key accounts, guiding their growth with a steady focus on performance, trust, and measurable impact.
AI consulting FAQs
Common questions from businesses considering AI consulting.
How much does AI consulting cost?
A standalone AI strategy assessment starts from $3,500 + GST fixed-price (1-2 weeks). Implementation engagements typically run $10,000 to $40,000 + GST depending on scope. Custom AI tool builds via Paladine Systems typically run $15,000 to $60,000+ + GST. Ongoing AI partnership from $4,500 + GST per month.
The assessment is a deliverable in its own right. You can action it with us, with another team, or use it as an internal investment case. No lock-in contracts.
How do you tell real AI opportunities from marketing AI?
Our honest view: AI is genuinely transformative for 2 to 5 places in your business and marketing for the other 20 to 50. The 2-5 are usually high-volume, low-judgment tasks where the cost of being wrong is recoverable: content drafting, summarisation, data tagging, first-pass research, customer sentiment analysis.
The other 20-50 are vendors adding “AI” to their product page because the market expects it. We will tell you which is which, decline the marketing-AI work, and only scope what produces real value at month six.
What if we have zero AI knowledge internally?
That is exactly who this service is for. We start with education: practical sessions that explain what AI can do for your specific business, not abstract theory. Most clients go from confused to confident within the first workshop.
Will AI replace our team?
No. AI handles repetitive, low-value tasks so your team can focus on strategy, creativity, and customer relationships. The businesses getting the best results from AI are making their existing people faster and more effective, not replacing them.
How long does it take to see results from AI?
Quick wins from automation (email workflows, reporting, content drafts) can show up within 2 to 4 weeks. Deeper AI strategy like predictive analytics or custom tool builds typically takes 2 to 3 months to show measurable impact.
We set up tracking from day one so you can see the before and after.
Is our data safe with AI tools?
It depends on which tools you use and how they are configured. Some AI platforms use your data to train their models. Others do not. We advise on data privacy by design: encrypted processing, access controls, and compliance with Australian Privacy Principles.
For businesses with strict data sovereignty requirements, we deploy on-premise models like Llama, Qwen, and Mistral where your data never leaves your infrastructure.
Can you help with AI for marketing specifically?
Yes, that is our core strength. We use AI across SEO content generation, ad creative testing, audience segmentation, predictive bidding, and customer sentiment analysis. We analysed sentiment from over 10,000 emails for one client to reshape their content strategy.
Our AI consulting integrates directly with our SEO, PPC, and paid social services.
We tried ChatGPT and it was not that useful. What is different about working with you?
ChatGPT out of the box is a general-purpose tool. It does not know your business, your customers, or your data. The difference is strategy, prompting, and integration.
We build custom prompts, connect AI to your actual business data, and embed it into your existing workflows so the output is relevant and actionable, not generic filler that needs to be rewritten anyway.
Do you build custom AI tools or just recommend existing ones?
Both. For many businesses, properly configuring existing tools (ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, HubSpot AI, GA4 predictive audiences) is enough. When off-the-shelf is not enough, our Paladine Systems team builds custom solutions: chatbots, predictive models, automated reporting, and agentic workflows engineered to stay profitable at LLM-cost scale.
AI Consulting Service Menu
Not sure where to start?
Tell us what is happening and we will tell you what we would do about it.
- 100% Australian team
- No lock-in contracts
Google Rating – 4.8 rating
