FIELD NOTES

AI, honestly.
For UK businesses.

Practical guides, frameworks, and honest takes on adopting AI — written for decision-makers, not developers. No hype, no hallucinated stats, no vendor talking points.

15 articles 5 categories Updated May 2026
ALL WRITING
15 — articles
01 — 2026 Buyer's Guide

Claude API for Business vs Azure OpenAI: A UK Buyer's Guide

The three-way API decision every UK SME faces after committing to a bespoke build — Claude API, Azure OpenAI, or OpenAI direct. Residency, governance, cost shape, and a simple decision framework.

MAY 2026 8 MIN
02 — 2026 Case Study

Custom AI Tools for UK SMEs: A Property Management Case Study

How a UK property management firm cut tenant email triage from 14 minutes to 3 with a custom AI tool built on the Claude API. Seven-week build, ~£71k annualised saving, and the lessons we would apply next time.

MAY 2026 9 MIN
03 — 2026 Strategy

Why AI Automation Stalls in Most UK Businesses

Most UK AI automation projects quietly stall. Three stall patterns, the ten-minute test that predicts them, and what shipping teams do differently.

MAY 2026 8 MIN
04 — 2026 Strategy

How to Integrate AI Into Your UK Business

A practical, step-by-step guide to AI integration for UK businesses — five stages, four-to-eight-week timeboxes, and where most projects fail.

APR 2026 9 MIN
05 — 2026 Strategy

AI Consultancy UK: A Buyer's Guide

How to evaluate AI consultancies in the UK without falling for demoware. The four types of consultancy, the questions that separate them, and how to write the brief.

APR 2026 9 MIN
06 — 2026 Case Study

Bespoke AI Solutions UK: A Document Processing Case Study

How a UK accountancy firm cut document processing time by 70% with a bespoke AI tool built on the Claude API. Four-week build, real numbers, and a three-test rule.

APR 2026 9 MIN
07 — 2026 Governance

AI Governance for UK SMEs: A Practical Framework

Most AI governance frameworks were written for FTSE 100 boards. This is the lightweight, opinionated, five-pillar framework we use with UK SMEs — with a 30-day rollout plan.

APR 2026 8 MIN
08 — 2026 Strategy

Microsoft Copilot Cowork: what it is, what it costs, and whether your business needs it

Microsoft just launched Copilot Cowork — an agentic AI tool powered by Anthropic's Claude, not OpenAI. We break down what it does, what it costs, and whether UK businesses should care.

MAR 2026 9 MIN
09 — 2026 Automation

How AI email triage works (and why your inbox is costing you hours)

Your team spends 4.1 hours a day on email. AI email triage cuts that in half — not by sending automated replies, but by sorting, prioritising, and routing so humans don't have to.

MAR 2026 8 MIN
10 — 2026 Strategy

AI awareness for your team: what every employee needs to know

Most businesses don't have an AI problem. They have a productivity problem they don't realise AI can solve. Here's why the conversation needs to change.

MAR 2026 8 MIN
11 — 2026 Strategy

Is your business ready for AI? A practical checklist

There's a difference between “our business has access to AI tools” and “our business is ready to use AI effectively.” Here's what you need to sort out first.

MAR 2026 10 MIN
12 — 2026 Governance

Why every business needs an AI usage policy

AI adoption is moving faster than policy. Across most UK businesses, employees are using ChatGPT, Copilot, and other AI tools with minimal oversight. The fix is a pragmatic AI usage policy.

MAR 2026 8 MIN
13 — 2026 Automation

5 business processes you should automate with AI first

“Automate everything” is not a strategy. “Automate the thing that takes the most time and follows the most predictable pattern” is. Here are the five processes to start with.

JAN 2026 9 MIN
14 — 2026 Strategy

Microsoft Copilot vs custom AI: which is right for your business?

“Should we just roll out Copilot, or do we need something custom?” The answer is almost always “both, but for different things.” Understanding which tool belongs where saves real money.

JAN 2026 8 MIN
15 — 2026 AI Foundations

How to choose the right AI model for your business

When a business decides to embed AI into its operations, the first and most consequential decision is which model to build on. Choose wrong and you'll spend the next eighteen months unpicking a foundation that doesn't fit.

FEB 2026 7 MIN

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