What does Useful Build build? +
Custom software and agents for small and medium businesses. That can be ordinary software, a custom AI agent or a company knowledge agent that answers questions from your files. The free audit picks the smallest system that solves the problem. We also run a monthly team workshop on the Claude and ChatGPT products your team already pays for.
Who is Useful Build for? +
Small and medium businesses in the United States and Canada with repetitive work, software that doesn't talk to each other or expensive tools that don't fit the job.
What is the free audit? +
A free 30-minute call. No prep, no obligation. We look at one job your team does by hand and the software you already pay for. You leave knowing whether to build, train or wait, and what it would cost, even if you never hire us.
What does a build cost? +
Every build has a fixed fee agreed before work starts. A typical first system is $18,000 to $40,000. The calculator on this page uses $18,000 as the planning number for one job. Maintenance, if you want it, is a separate monthly amount you'll know before signing.
What does maintenance cover? +
An optional monthly agreement for systems we built. It covers hosting, monitoring, fixes, security updates and small improvements, and keeps the AI models current. You can run the system without it. It's for teams that don't want anyone internal babysitting the system.
If we cancel maintenance, do we lose the system? +
No. You own the source code from day one and the system runs on accounts you control. Cancel and it keeps running. You can maintain it yourself, hand it to your IT provider or come back later.
Do we need to know what kind of system we need? +
No. That's what the audit is for. We look at the job and pick the smallest system that solves it. Sometimes the honest answer is a simple script, and we'll say so.
Can we book the workshop without a build? +
Yes. The team workshop is $5,000 a month for two one-hour live sessions, month to month. Claude covers Claude, Claude Cowork, Claude Code and Claude Design. ChatGPT covers ChatGPT, ChatGPT Work and ChatGPT Codex. When we build for you, handover training on that system is included in the build fee.
Can this replace tools we already pay for? +
Sometimes. The free audit lists the software you pay for and shows which overlapping tools you could drop, which should stay and what a custom build would cost.
What does RAG mean? +
It's the technical name for answers from your company documents. The system finds the relevant files, answers from those, shows the source and says when the answer isn't there.
What is an AI agent? +
Software that carries out a defined job using your tools and rules. It can do more than chat. A person still checks the steps that need judgment.
How long does it take? +
It depends on the job and what it has to connect to. We agree a delivery date before code starts and show working software early.
Who owns what you build? +
You do. You get the source code, documentation and training to run it without us. Hosting and related accounts stay under your control. We operate them only with your approval.
Where does our data go? +
Only to systems and providers you approve for the project. We don't train on it, resell it or move it without your approval.