Whale Digital Consulting is a Melbourne AI consultant for small businesses and sole traders. We map one real workflow, pick the tools you already pay for, build the smallest version that works, and check every result with you.
Updated 24 September 2026
What does an AI consultant do, and what does it cost?
An AI consultant maps how one real job runs, finds the parts AI can do reliably, and builds the smallest version that works, with a person checking the output. With us, the first 15 to 30 minute consultation is free, the diagnosis day is a fixed A$399, and anything built after that is quoted per job before we start.
| Step | What you get | Time | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free intro | A straight answer on whether AI can help | 15 to 30 minutes | Free |
| Diagnosis day | A map of one job and three ranked candidates | Half a day to a full day | Fixed A$399 |
| Quote | One page, fixed | Within 48 hours | Covered by the diagnosis day |
| First workflow | Built, run for a week, signed off by a person | Quoted with a date | Quoted per job |
Workflow map · sample
Quote request → job bookedOrange = the steps that eat the week. Drawn on the day, corrected by you.
SAMPLEYour job written down as it actually happens, not as the software vendor drew it. You bring 60 to 90 minutes of your time. Day 1.
Three candidates · ranked
- Draft the quote from the photosyou approve it from the ute
- Follow up unanswered quotesdrafted, you send
- Turn the job into the invoiceone tap, still yours to check
Ranked by time given back, not by how clever they look.
SAMPLERanked by how much time they give you back, not by how clever they look. You bring access to the tools you use. Day 1.
One-page quote · sample
Build: quote drafting workflow| What we'd build | 1 workflow |
| What you have to do | a short afternoon |
| How long | a dated week |
| Price | fixed, on this page |
You can stop here and keep the map.
SAMPLEOne page and it's fixed. If we've misread the job, that's ours to find on the day, not yours to discover in month three. Within 48 hours.
AI consulting for Melbourne businesses like yours
This is for you if you run the business and still do the admin. Sole traders, one to twenty people, hospitality, salons, trades, and professional services. You do not need to know anything about AI. You do need to know your own job.
The first workflow is usually the one that eats service time: bookings landing in three places, or the same supplier email retyped every week. Mapping your week usually turns up two or three of those before lunch.
The first workflow is usually the diary: bookings landing in two systems and a phone, and a daily check for clashes that nobody enjoys. Pull those into one view and the check stops being a job. That starts as one workflow, not a system.
The first workflow is usually quoting. Photos and voice notes in, a draft quote out, and you approve it from the ute instead of at 9pm. You still read it before it goes, and that's the point.
The first workflow is usually the file note. What was said, what was agreed, what happens next, written while it's fresh. You correct it in two minutes instead of rebuilding it from memory on Friday.
It isn't for you if you want AI running without anyone reading the output, or if you want a system you never have to look at. We also don't take enterprise rollouts. That needs a bigger team than we choose to run, and it changes the kind of attention you get. We're based in Bayside and work on-site across Melbourne, or online anywhere in Australia.
What does an AI consultant actually do?
In one sentence
An AI consultant looks at how your business actually runs, finds the jobs that eat your week, and puts AI on the ones it can do reliably. Most of the work is mapping and testing, not installing software. A Melbourne AI consultant should also know what your customers here expect, and what you can say to them.
- 01Map What is happening now?
We watch the job get done, step by step.
- 02Match What if AI took part of it?
We test the tools you already pay for first.
- 03Build What would wow you?
We build the smallest version that works.
- 04Verify What actually works?
You run it for a week. A person signs off. Nothing goes out to a customer without someone reading it first. That rule does not change once the project ends.
What an AI consultant isn't
Someone who sells you a subscription and walks away. If nobody reads the first month of output, you've bought a tool, not a result. The tool was never the hard part.
Where a diagnosis usually lands
Teach us to do it
Sometimes the job is fine and the gap is that nobody in the room knows how to hand work to AI properly. Then the answer is a workshop on your own job, not a build.
AI training →Build this one workflow
The default path. One job, mapped, built and run for a week with a person signing off, at a price fixed on one page before anything starts.
Book the free intro →This needs a system, not a workflow
When three or four jobs all lean on the same customer list, separate automations start fighting each other. That's when it's worth building something that holds them together.
AI Builder →Don't automate this
Some jobs are judgement, or too rare to be worth it, or the mess is in the process rather than the tool. We'd rather say so on the day than sell you a build that quietly gets switched off.
The diagnosis day is the product. What it recommends depends on what we find, and one of the four answers means you stop there.
How it works: four questions, one job at a time
Free intro, 15 to 30 minutes
You tell us the job that annoys you most. We tell you straight if AI can help, and where it would fit. No slides, and no homework before the call.
The diagnosis day
We sit with the job. You keep working, we watch and ask. By the end there's a map and three candidates, ranked.
The quote
One page. What we'd build, what it costs, how long, and what you have to do. You can stop here and keep the map. Plenty of people do, and some of them come back six months later with a different job.
- You can stop hereKeep the map and run what you've got. Plenty of people do.Or go onBuild one workflow, run it for a week, then decide about the next.
Build one workflow, then check it
We build the smallest version that does the job. You run it for a week. If it doesn't hold up, we fix it before we touch anything else. Nothing moves to the next job until this one has survived a normal week. Then the loop starts again on the next job. That's how a single workflow turns into an AI Builder system over months, not in one big install.
English or Chinese, on-site in Melbourne or online
Same consultant, either language
We work in English and Chinese. Same consultant, same workflow map, whichever one you think in. That matters most in the diagnosis day, when you're describing how your business actually runs and the words have to be yours. You shouldn't have to translate your own business to get help with it.
Who you'll be working with
Ray and Haylee — the two people you'll actually deal with, from the first call to the workflow going live. There are only the two of us. Our backgrounds are on the About page.
The person who pitches you is the person who builds it
There's no account manager in between, and no team to hand you off to. We make our money when you come back for the next workflow, not from the diagnosis day alone. That's why we'd rather be straight with you on day one.
The model is the engine. The harness is the job.
AI on its own doesn't make a business faster. What makes it work is the goal, the rules, what it's allowed to touch, and who signs off. That's what the day is for.
How much does an AI consultant cost in Melbourne?
The first consultation is free, 15 to 30 minutes, in Melbourne or online. The diagnosis day is a fixed A$399 and that's the only number you commit to before you've seen us work. Anything we build after that is quoted per job, on one page, before we start. We don't quote a system before we've watched the workflow. If the diagnosis says AI isn't the answer for that job, we'll say so and you'll still have the map. We publish the number for one reason. You shouldn't have to sit through a sales call with a Melbourne AI consultant just to find out whether we're in your range. The diagnosis day costs the same for a sole trader or a team of twenty.
Want the wider market first? Here's what an AI consultant costs in Melbourne, from the prices other firms publish.
AI Search Score
Put your website in, get a read on whether AI search engines can find you. About 90 seconds, no signup, and you keep the result.
Run the AI Search ScoreTwo more demos are on the way. Ask us on the call
Related services
AI training
Half a day on your real work, not a slide deck about AI. You leave with one job already handed over.
AI Builder
Not a tool you adapt to. A system shaped to your jobs, one workflow at a time, with a person still in charge.
Whale Marketing in One
It reads your sources, drafts in your voice, and keeps a record of what went out. Nothing leaves the building until you say so.
Questions we get asked
15 to 30 minutes, in Melbourne or online, in English or Chinese. You tell us the job that annoys you most. We tell you straight whether AI can help. If it can't, that's a two minute answer and you've lost nothing.
Book a free call