What is AI automation?

AI automation is software that reads, decides and acts inside the systems a business already uses — handling enquiries, paperwork, scheduling and reporting without a person re-keying data. Unlike simple rules-based automation, it copes with messy, human inputs such as emails, PDFs, photos and phone calls, with a person approving anything consequential.

How much does AI automation cost in the UK?

A first production workflow typically costs between £6,000 and £25,000 to build, plus a monthly running cost for hosting, model usage and support. Our entry point is the £499 AI Ops Audit, a five-day fixed-price review that returns a costed, sequenced build plan.

What should a business automate first?

Whatever is high volume, repetitive and already written down: enquiry triage and follow-up, invoice and payment chasing, document handling, job scheduling and weekly reporting. These are the fastest to prove and the easiest to measure.

How long does an AI automation project take?

The audit takes five days. A first workflow usually goes live in four to eight weeks, and most operators reach payback within three to nine months because the released hours start immediately.

Will AI automation replace our staff?

The work we remove is the admin nobody wanted: re-keying, chasing, formatting, searching. Every system we build keeps a human in the loop on decisions that carry money, safety or reputation.

Do we have to replace the software we already use?

No. Our integration approach keeps your accounting, CRM, email, telephony and job systems in place and makes them work together, so AI can operate across them.

AI AUTOMATION · UK

AI automation for businessWhat to automate first in a UK operating business, what it costs, and how to prove it worked.

AI automation is software that reads, decides and acts inside the systems you already use — handling enquiries, paperwork, scheduling and reporting without anyone re-keying data, with a human approving whatever matters. Forth Systems builds it for operators in construction, landscaping, plant hire, haulage, energy and professional services.

Take the free 2-minute scan Calculate your ROI — from our real build numbers

What we automate

Eight systems, built to work together or on their own, always inside the software you already run.

AI agents

Agents that read, decide and act inside your existing tools with a human always in the loop.

Workflow automation

End-to-end automations that remove copy-paste between systems and free hours every week.

Document AI

Extract, classify and route invoices, dockets, contracts and PDFs at scale.

Voice AI

Inbound reception, triage, follow-up and outbound calling trained on your business.

Custom copilots

Domain-specific copilots on your data, answering the questions your team asks daily.

Data pipelines

Clean, observable pipelines so every AI system runs on data you can trust.

AI integrations

GPT, Claude, Gemini and open models wired into Xero, Sage, HubSpot, Salesforce and beyond.

AI readiness audits

A 5-day fixed-price audit that scores your systems and picks what to build first.

Before and after

HOW IT RUNS TODAY

Enquiries answered whenever someone spots the email
Quotes rebuilt by hand from old spreadsheets
Invoices chased when someone remembers
Monday morning spent asking people for numbers

WITH FORTH

Every enquiry triaged, logged and answered within minutes
Quotes drafted from your own pricing, checked by a human
Chasing runs itself, escalating only what needs you
One live dashboard for sales, jobs, cash and productivity

How to start

Four steps, each one small enough to say yes to.

2-Minute AI Opportunity Scan

Free

Six point-and-click questions. Instant score and the three processes worth automating first.

AI Ops Audit

£499 · 5 days

Fixed-price review of your systems and workflows, returning a costed, sequenced build plan.

First workflow live

4–8 weeks

We build and ship the highest-payback workflow into your existing tools, measured from day one.

Managed and extended

Ongoing

Cardiff AI automation company building AI agents, workflow automation and custom copilots for financial services, insurance, media and public-sector operators across Wales.

Explore Cardiff →

Straight answers

The questions operators ask before they commission anything.

AI adoption hub

How to adopt AI step by step, why it fails, what it costs — plus tools and live chat.

AI automation vs RPA

Rules-based robots break when the input changes. Where each approach fits, and why most systems use both.

AI agents vs Copilot

A copilot helps a person do the work. An agent owns the process. What each is worth, and how to keep control.

AI automation cost in the UK

Audit from £499, first workflow £6k–£25k, plus running costs. What drives the price and how to model payback.

AI for business

What AI actually does day to day inside an operating business — and whether it is as expensive as owners expect.

How to adopt AI in your business

The seven steps in order: pick one costly process, connect your systems, keep a human gate, measure it.

Why AI adoption fails

Six predictable reasons projects stall after the pilot, and what a project that works looks like instead.

AI by industry

Construction, landscaping and plant hire — the workflows that pay off in each, with local Edinburgh and Glasgow coverage.

AI automation, answered

What is AI automation?: AI automation is software that reads, decides and acts inside the systems a business already uses — handling enquiries, paperwork, scheduling and reporting without a person re-keying data. Unlike simple rules-based automation, it copes with messy, human inputs such as emails, PDFs, photos and phone calls, with a person approving anything consequential.
How much does AI automation cost in the UK?: A first production workflow typically costs between £6,000 and £25,000 to build, plus a monthly running cost for hosting, model usage and support. Our entry point is the £499 AI Ops Audit, a five-day fixed-price review that returns a costed, sequenced build plan.
What should a business automate first?: Whatever is high volume, repetitive and already written down: enquiry triage and follow-up, invoice and payment chasing, document handling, job scheduling and weekly reporting. These are the fastest to prove and the easiest to measure.
How long does an AI automation project take?: The audit takes five days. A first workflow usually goes live in four to eight weeks, and most operators reach payback within three to nine months because the released hours start immediately.
Will AI automation replace our staff?: The work we remove is the admin nobody wanted: re-keying, chasing, formatting, searching. Every system we build keeps a human in the loop on decisions that carry money, safety or reputation.
Do we have to replace the software we already use?: No. Our integration approach keeps your accounting, CRM, email, telephony and job systems in place and makes them work together, so AI can operate across them.

TRUST & CREDENTIALS

How we work, and what stands behind it

This page is maintained by Forth Systems. Everything listed below describes our own team, hosting choices and the technologies we build on — it is a statement of practice, not an independent certification or an endorsement by the vendors named.

UK team & data residency

Who builds it, and where your data sits while they do.

UK-based engineers
Edinburgh-headquartered. Every system is designed, built and supported by our own UK-based engineering team — no offshore delivery pool.
UK / EU hosting by default
Applications and databases are provisioned in UK or EU regions unless you require otherwise, with encryption in transit and at rest.
Human-in-the-loop by design
Every AI system we ship keeps a manual override. Nothing irreversible happens without an operator able to review, edit or stop it.
Audit trails as standard
Automated actions are written as first-class records — who or what did it, when, against which input — so operations stay evidence-ready.

Systems we build on

The platforms our systems run on. These are the technologies we deploy and support — not sponsorships or reseller badges.

OpenAI, Anthropic & Google models
Model-agnostic delivery. We route each workload to the model that fits it on cost, latency and accuracy, and can switch without a rebuild.
Supabase & Postgres
Row-level-security Postgres as the operational spine under every platform we run.
Stripe payments
Payment capture, checkout and reconciliation wired directly into job and permit workflows.
Xero, Sage & HubSpot integrations
Production integrations into the finance and CRM systems UK operators already run, so automation lands where the business keeps its records.

Streetworks & industry credentials

Operational domains we build in daily, with the sector systems we integrate against.

DfT Street Manager integration
Our Kerbco permit chain creates and tracks streetworks permit applications against DfT Street Manager and local highway authority processes.
NRSWA-aligned workflows
Permit, reinstatement and traffic-management workflows built to the New Roads and Street Works Act process contractors are inspected against.
Traffic management planning
Roadplan produces signing and guarding layouts for council submission and for the crew installing them on site.
Operator-built, not consultancy-built
We run streetworks and plant operations ourselves. Every platform started as a system we needed in our own business.

Insurance certificates, registration numbers and security documentation are available on request — ask the team.