Your First 90 Days With AI: A Step-by-Step Implementation Roadmap

AI doesn’t have to be a big, risky project. With the right scope and guardrails, you can see results in weeks—not months. This 90-day plan outlines AI-step-by-step and our approach to rolling out AI for small businesses across Dartmouth, New Bedford, Fall River, the South Coast, and greater Massachusetts.

We start small, prove value, keep humans in control, and scale what works.

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Time saved — minutes per task × tasks per week × hourly rate
More revenue — extra leads/opps × close rate × average deal size
Happier customers — faster replies, fewer mistakes → higher retention & referrals

Rule of thumb: If a pilot doesn’t pay for itself in 90 days, we don’t scale it.

Trades & Home Services (contractors, plumbers, electricians, HVAC)

Lead-qualifying website chat

Greets after hours, collects name/zip/issue, books a time slot, and hands off to a human for complex questions.
ROI idea: 10 extra booked jobs/month × $250 avg margin = $2,500/mo.

Estimate drafting helper

Turns tech notes (voice or text) into a clean estimate email with scope, parts, next steps.
ROI idea: 10 min saved × 20 estimates/week × $45/hr loaded cost ≈ $600/mo.

Job-prep checklists from past jobs

AI reads prior invoices and photos to auto-create checklists per job type; reduces callbacks and forgotten parts.
ROI idea: 1 fewer callback/week @ $150 truck roll = $600/mo.

Professional Services (agencies, accountants, law practices, consultants)

There are numerous ways AI can enhance your business's efficiency and productivity. We're just scratching the surface with these examples, but it's an ai-step-by-step introduction. We identify the pain points you're facing and plan accordingly.

Intake → CRM automation

Form/email goes in, AI extracts contact/company/need, creates the record, tags it, sets a follow-up task.
ROI idea: 6 min saved × 80 leads/mo × $60/hr = $480/mo.

Email drafting & proposal scaffolding

Drafts routine replies and proposal sections from your templates; partners review and finalize.
ROI idea: 30% faster proposals → more on-time submissions → +1 closed deal/mo at $2,500 margin = $2,500/mo. We're practitioners who understand this from the inside out.

Knowledge search for SOPs/precedents

- Ask “policy on late invoices?” and get the exact clause + a client-facing summary.
- ROI idea: 15 min saved × 40 lookups/mo × $120/hr billable = $1,200/mo recaptured capacity.

Retail & E-commerce

Product Q&A and returns assistant

AI answers sizing, shipping, and return questions; creates tickets for edge cases.
ROI idea: +0.5% conversion lift on 20,000 sessions/mo at $60 AOV ≈ $6,000/mo revenue impact.

Catalog enrichment

Writes consistent titles, bullets, and meta descriptions from supplier sheets and your brand voice.
ROI idea: 2 min saved × 1,000 SKUs × $30/hr = $1,000 one-time; plus search lift.

Review summarization & response

Summarizes common themes, drafts polite responses, flags issues for ops.
ROI idea: +0.2 average star improvement → higher CTR and lower ad CPA.

Healthcare & Dentists (non-PHI workflows only)

Phone → summary → follow-up

Voicemail/recording → appointment summary + draft SMS/email follow-up with prep instructions.
ROI idea: 5 min saved × 25 appts/day × $35/hr = $437/week.

Policy & insurance explainer

Plain-English summaries of coverage and prep steps; reduces back-and-forth.
ROI idea: 10 fewer reschedules/mo × $150 avg lost margin = $1,500/mo.

Website triage for new-patient intake

Collects symptoms/needs, shares onboarding info, and routes to the right coordinator.
ROI idea: Faster triage → higher show-up rate for consults.

(We implement HIPAA-aware patterns and human approval steps where required.)

Safety, Privacy & Control

This is non-negotiable. We configure AI like a tool inside your shop, not a mysterious black box.

Data hygiene: We only send what the model needs. Sensitive fields can be redacted or excluded.
Access control: Separate environments for staging vs. production; logs for who did what, when.
Guardrails: We block off-limits topics, enforce tone, and prevent the system from making promises it can’t keep.
Model choice: We use private, business-grade endpoints. If you need to keep content on your own infrastructure, we plan for that.

Reliability & Cost (keeping it predictable)

Human-in-the-loop is standard for anything sensitive.
We add approval steps where they matter—quotes, refunds, policy exceptions—so you never “set and forget” critical actions.

Testing & monitoring.
We run scenario tests, A/B prompts, and simple dashboards so you can see accuracy, response time, and usage.

Cost control.
We right-size models (use smaller/faster where possible), cache common answers, and batch similar tasks so you’re not paying premium rates for routine work.

How Slocum Delivers (a simple path to results)

Discovery (free consult).
We learn your goals, systems, and the one or two processes that waste the most time.

Pilot (2–4 weeks).
Pick a single valuable workflow, such as website FAQs and email drafts. We build a small, safe pilot and prove value.

Integrate.
Connect to your CRM/help desk/calendar, add guardrails, and tighten the prompts.

Train your team.
Short playbooks, role-specific prompts, and a quick Zoom session—so the tool gets used.

Support & iteration.
We monitor metrics, refine prompts, and assist you in scaling to the next workflow.

Slocum Design Studio
Salt Marsh Pottery Building, 1167 Russells Mills Rd, 2nd Floor
Dartmouth, Massachusetts 02748
Phone: 857-400-8959 • Email: [email protected]

We serve Dartmouth, New Bedford, Fall River, the South Coast, and greater Massachusetts. We implement AI with privacy, security, and human oversight.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will AI use our data to train public models?

No. We use private, business-grade endpoints. Your content isn’t used to train public systems.

Do we need custom code?

Often no. Many wins come from smart configuration plus connectors like Zapier/Make. If you need custom code, we keep it lightweight.

How fast can we pilot?

Most pilots run 2–4 weeks. You’ll see value quickly, then decide what to scale.

What about accuracy?

We anchor answers in your own documents (RAG), add guardrails, and require human approval where necessary.

Which model is “best”?

It depends on the job—speed, cost, and reasoning needs. We maintain multiple Pro accounts so we can match the model to your use case.