AI and automation Consultant · United Kingdom
Hands on automation that pays for itself. Honest advice about what will not
I work with established firms that have plenty of repeatable admin and nobody technical in house. I find where automation and AI will genuinely pay, prove it, then build and deploy it. Independent, with no licences to resell, and twelve years of building data and AI products and services behind the advice
Complimentary thirty-minute call. No pitch, no obligation.
Profile
Live
Ian Blackburn
AI and Automation Consultant
Twelve plus years building and shipping products, with hands-on experience in production AI and a track record of advising exec teams.
- AI strategy, readiness, and tooling audits
- Build and implementation, from proof of concept to production
- Fractional AI and product leadership
- Responsible AI for regulated industries
Previously led product for
Most AI projects stall. Not because the technology is wrong. Because the foundations are.
Plenty of firms have bought a licence, tried it for a fortnight and quietly stopped. Most of those investments underperform, not because of the model or the vendor, but because nobody asked which piece of work was worth automating, what good would look like, or who owns the thing once it is running.
The promise of AI is real. The gap between that promise and something your team actually uses is where most firms get stuck.
A short path from where AI might help to something your team actually uses
Most engagements follow the same four steps. You can stop after any of them, and you are never sold a build before the value is clear. Workshops and one-off enablement are available separately, see Services.
Discovery and diagnosis
We start by finding where automation and AI will realistically pay. Through a Scan or an Audit, I look at how the work actually gets done, map the opportunities in order of return, and give you a vendor-neutral view of what is worth doing and, just as usefully, what is not.
Prioritise and plan
I turn that into a short, readable plan: what to do first, what it will take, the tooling that fits, and the risk and responsible-use considerations that come with it. Enough detail to commit budget confidently, without committing to everything at once.
Build and deploy
I build the automations and agents themselves, in your own accounts rather than mine, and get them running against real work. Where a job calls for heavy engineering beyond that, I write the specification, own the architecture and oversee delivery with trusted partners or your own team.
Hand over and keep improving
Your team is shown how the thing works and what to do when it does not. From there I can stay available for support and for deciding what to automate next. The goal is capability that sticks, not dependence on a consultant.
Twelve plus years of building. Not just advising.
I’m a builder as much as an adviser. Over the past twelve years, I’ve developed and led award-winning data and AI products across a range of industries. I’ve owned P&Ls, secured six-figure deals, built delivery teams and written production code. I still develop the automations and agents I recommend to clients. That combination of hands-on technical experience and commercial understanding is unusual. It means my advice is grounded in what actually works.
I headed up Learning Locker, the analytics platform that won the Queen’s Award for Enterprise: Innovation, and I created Thrive Impact, the service behind a Gold at the Learning Technologies Awards for proving the business value of learning activity. Across roles I have delivered in regulated industries, launched AI products, and led engineering teams, helping organisations move towards genuinely AI-native ways of working rather than bolting AI on at the edges.
Earlier, at Celaton, I implemented document automation in law firms, online retailers and train operators, which captures some of the work I do for clients today.
I work independently and vendor-neutral, so my recommendations serve you, not a licence I am reselling. Whether you need a clear-eyed strategy, a working prototype, or a steady hand as you decide what to automate next, I help you turn AI from hype and stalled pilots into capability that earns its place, and I leave your team able to carry it forward.
12+
Seed to acquisition
Led Learning Locker from series A to successful exit
100+ audiences
Reached through workshops, webinars and talks
What I Do
How I help you adopt AI.
I work with established businesses across the United Kingdom that run on repeatable, document-heavy processes, and with founders building AI products
AI Opportunity Scan
A focused, fixed-scope diagnostic for smaller teams or a first step. I assess where AI can improve your processes and performance and give you a prioritised, vendor-neutral set of recommendations you can act on.
Engagement
Fixed fee, lighter and faster
Best for
Smaller teams, or a low-commitment first step into AI
S01
AI and Automation Audit
A multi-stakeholder review of your readiness, opportunities, tooling, and responsible-use considerations, delivered as a prioritised roadmap. The foundation for everything that follows.
Engagement
Fixed fee, typically two to three weeks
Best for
Organisations that want a clear, prioritised plan before committing budget to AI.
Build and Deploy
Hands-on delivery. I build the automations and agents, in your own accounts, and get them running against real work. Where a job needs heavy engineering beyond that, I write the specification, own the architecture and oversee delivery with trusted partners or your own team.
Engagement
Project or milestone based
Best for
Teams ready to build the capability an audit has identified, and to prove value quickly.
Support and Ongoing Advisory
Once automations are running, someone has to watch them and decide what comes next. I stay available on a retainer for support, for judging which opportunity to take next, and for the build-versus-buy calls in between.
Engagement
Retainer, minimum three months
Best for
Businesses with automations live and not technical team of their own.
Businesses with automations live and not technical team of their own.
S01
Workshops and Enablement
Practical, hands-on sessions that get your team confidently and responsibly using AI in their everyday work, from readiness and safe use to applying AI to your real processes. Run as standalone sessions or a short programme, and designed to leave your people able to carry the work forward.
Engagement
Half day, full day, or a short programme
Best for
Teams that want to build confidence and capability with AI, fast.
AI Product Advisory
An honest technical read on the AI in the product you are selling: whether it will work, what it will cost to run, where it will break, and what a credible roadmap looks like. From someone who has built and shipped AI products rather than someone selling you a team.
Engagement
Fixed fee, or set number of days
Best for
Founders and leadership teams building an AI product or feature
You are in the right place if...
01
You are building an AI product and need real technical leadership
Your people spend their days on work a machine should be doing
The same documents retyped, repeatable processes handled manually, the same data transferred between systems. It is expensive, it is easy to stop noticing, and it is usually where the return sits.
03
You want AI capability but are not sure where to begin
No jargon. No vendor agenda. An honest assessment of your current state and a practical, prioritised path to capability that your organisation can sustain.
A previous AI engagement did not deliver what was promised
Automation that pays back, in the sectors I know best
I work with recruitment businesses, law firms, construction and property groups, and finance teams to automate the processes that genuinely pay back, and to steer clear of the AI that will not.
Outcomes, not just outputs.
Rise in retail sales, Ann Summers (Learning Technologies Awards Gold)
AI & DATA PRODUCT · CREATOR
I created the analytics service behind a Gold-winning result
Thrive Impact helps L&D teams prove the business impact of their learning, through a structured, data-led approach. It started as my own idea. The Ann Summers programme built on it won Gold for “Best use of learning data analytics to impact learner and business performance” alongside a 30% rise in their retail sales for the products in the experiement.
AI & DATA PRODUCT · PRODUCT LEAD
I headed up the Queen’s Award-winning Learning Locker
I owned product for Learning Locker, the open-source learning analytics platform with the largest community in e-learning, growing enterprise revenue through major deals, including a seven-figure multi-year agreement with a Fortune 500 group, through to its acquisition by Learning Pool. It won the Queen’s Award for Enterprise: Innovation and Gold for Most Innovative New Learning Technologies Product, one of six Learning Technologies Awards the company took from six entries that year.
QUEEN’S AWARD
for Enterprise: Innovation, grown to acquisition
data and AI products and services taken to market, four built from scratch
AI & DATA PRODUCTS · BUILT AND SHIPPED
I lead teams that build and ship data and AI products
Across my career I have taken five data and AI products and services to market, four of them from a standing start. Most recently I led product and engineering teams of up to seven, shipping three AI SaaS products from scratch, one spanning web and mobile, each generating six-figure enterprise revenue. I own product strategy, pricing and go-to-market, and stay close to the architecture.
Good AI work is not measured in models deployed. It is measured in outcomes delivered, and in a team that can keep delivering them after you have gone.
IAN BLACKBURN
AI CONSULTANT AND AUTOMATION CONSULTANT
Frequently Asked
Questions clients ask.
What does an AI consultancy engagement actually involve?
It depends on where you are. Most clients begin with a fixed-fee Scan or Audit that assesses where automation will pay, From there I build and deploy what the assessment identified, and stay available afterwards for support and for deciding what to automate next. You are never sold a build before the value is clear.
Are you independent, or do you resell particular tools?
Can you build production AI, or only advise?
Both, and that combination is the point. I build the automations and agents myself, in your own accounts, and get them running against real work. Where a job needs heavier engineering, I write the specification, own the architecture and oversee delivery with trusted partners or your own team. I have shipped production AI in my own roles, so I know what survives contact with reality.
What happens when an automation breaks?
That is what the support retainer is for. Every build is handed over with documentation your team can follow, so any troubleshooting you can handle. Where you want someone to stick around to keep an eye on things, that is what the retainer option is for.
Which industries do you work in?
More or less any, in practice. What matters more than the industry is whether a business runs repeatable, document-heavy or admin-heavy processes, and that pattern turns up almost everywhere. My deepest experience is in regulated and high-stakes environments, including financial services and learning technology, and I have implemented automation in law firms, online retailers and train operators. Recruitment, law, construction and property, and finance are where I am busiest at present, largely because the opportunities there are obvious.
How quickly can you start?
Get In Touch
Let us talk about your AI plans.
Whether you want a vendor-neutral audit of where AI can help, a proof of concept built and shipped, or ongoing fractional leadership to drive adoption, I would welcome the conversation.
Tell me a little about your situation using the form, or book a complimentary strategy call. No pitch, no obligation. Just a focused discussion about your product challenges and whether I can help.
No obligation. Twenty minutes. Genuinely useful regardless of whether we work together.