Custom AI, Built for How Your Business Runs.
Custom AI development services for agents, copilots, and chatbots that work inside your systems and workflows, hardened for production with evals, audit trails, and cost controls, and owned by you.
- 12-20weeks to first production version
- 2-4models behind one routing layer
- 100%observability from day one
- About30%of fee tied to your KPI (optional)
When Off-the-Shelf AI Isn't Enough.
Generic AI tools are good at generic work. Your edge sits in workflows they can't see.
- 01Can't Reach Your SystemsPackaged AI tools don't connect to your ERP, core platforms, or internal APIs.
- 02Can't Follow Your RulesApproval steps, compliance checks, and escalation paths don't fit a generic tool.
- 03Can't Prove It WorksWithout evals and audit trails, risk and compliance teams won't sign off.
Definition
What Is Custom AI Development?
Custom AI development is the design and build of AI applications, such as agents, copilots, and chatbots, made for one organization's workflows, data, and systems rather than adapted from a packaged tool. SMI TechSolutions delivers custom AI solutions with evals, audit trails, and full ownership of code, prompts, and evals.
What we build
What We Build
Agentic Workflows
FromManual, multi-step processesToAI agents that plan, act, and ask for approvalBespoke AI agents integrated with enterprise APIs and business systems.
Embedded Copilots
FromUsers switching between toolsToAI built into your own product or operations toolFor assistants inside your software, beyond Microsoft 365.
AI Chatbots
FromScripted FAQ botsToConversational assistants grounded in your dataFor customers or employees, with escalation to people.
Background Automation
FromQueues worked by handToAutonomous triage, summarizing, routing, and draftingEscalation thresholds keep people in control.
Multi-Model Orchestration
FromOne model for every jobTo2-4 models behind a routing layerThe right model per task for cost, speed, and accuracy, with fallbacks.
Build vs buy AI
Off-the-Shelf AI, Low-Code Platform, or Custom AI?
Buy off-the-shelf AI for common tasks like writing help or meeting notes. Use a low-code platform for simple internal assistants. Build custom AI when the workflow is a competitive advantage, needs deep integration, or must meet strict approval, audit, and compliance rules.
| Option | Best for | Limits |
|---|---|---|
| Off-the-shelf AI tools | Common, generic tasks | Can't reach your systems or follow your rules |
| Low-code AI platforms | Simple internal assistants | Limits on logic, scale, and governance |
| Custom AIFits your workflow | Core workflows, deep integration, regulated processes | Higher upfront effort; you own and run it |
How we deliver
From Scoping Call to Production in 12-20 Weeks
- 1
Scope
60-minute call to test the workflow and agree one success metric; 12-week first-release proposal.
- 2
Design
Agent flow, approval points, model routing, and eval criteria defined with your operators.
- 3
Build
Agents, integrations, and UI built in sprints; evals run on every merge.
- 4
Harden
Kill switches, audit trails, cost budgets, and security review before go-live.
- 5
Run
Monitoring, A/B tests, and cost-per-outcome tracking; improvements shipped continuously.
- Production controls
- Eval gates block regressions at merge
- Audit trail of every agent action
- Kill switches at tenant, feature, and model level
- Per-tenant budget alerts
- Observability with Langfuse, Phoenix, and OpenTelemetry
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does custom AI development cost?
Custom AI development cost depends on the workflow, integrations, and engagement model. SMI TechSolutions offers fixed-scope, fixed-fee first releases, time-and-material pods of 4 to 7 engineers, or outcome-based deals with about 30% of the fee tied to a production KPI.
How long does it take to build a custom AI solution?
SMI TechSolutions typically takes a custom AI solution from scoping to its first production version in 12 to 20 weeks, depending on integrations and approval requirements. A 60-minute scoping call produces a proposal for a 12-week first release.
What is an agentic AI workflow?
An agentic AI workflow is a multi-step process in which an AI agent plans, uses tools and APIs, retrieves information, drafts output, and pauses for human approval before acting. SMI TechSolutions builds agentic workflows with audit trails and kill switches at every level.
How do you build custom AI agents?
SMI TechSolutions maps the workflow with your operators, defines where the agent acts and where people approve, connects it to your APIs and business systems, and tests it against eval criteria built from real cases before any release reaches production.
How do you choose an AI chatbot development company?
Choose an AI chatbot development company that grounds answers in your data, integrates with your systems, tests quality with evals, logs every conversation for audit, and hands you full ownership. SMI TechSolutions offers all five, plus escalation paths to human agents.
What is multi-model AI orchestration?
Multi-model AI orchestration routes each task to the best-suited model, such as a large model for high-stakes reasoning and a fast, low-cost model for routine work, with tested fallbacks if a model fails. SMI TechSolutions typically runs 2 to 4 models behind one routing layer.
How do you test custom AI before release?
SMI TechSolutions builds eval harnesses from your operators' acceptance criteria and runs them on every merge, so regressions in accuracy, safety, or cost are blocked automatically. In production, A/B tests and monitoring confirm the results hold with real users.
How do you control AI costs in production?
SMI TechSolutions routes routine work to cheaper models, sets per-tenant budget alerts, and tracks cost per outcome rather than cost per token, so spend stays tied to the business result and doesn't grow unnoticed as usage scales.
Who owns the code, prompts, and evals?
You do. SMI TechSolutions builds in your repositories, and the code, prompts, and evals are yours. Models run through your own accounts with the providers, so there's no lock-in to SMI.
How do you keep people in control of AI agents?
SMI TechSolutions designs human approval points into every agentic workflow, logs every agent action, scopes memory to user, role, and tenant, and adds kill switches at tenant, feature, and model level so any behavior can be stopped immediately.
Do you build custom AI for regulated industries?
Yes. SMI TechSolutions builds custom AI for financial services, healthcare, and manufacturing, such as KYC agents, fraud-investigator copilots, and prior-authorization agents, with audit trails and approval steps that compliance teams can review.
Ready to Build Custom AI That Survives Production?
Bring one workflow. In 60 minutes we'll test whether custom AI fits, agree the success metric, and follow up with a 12-week first-release proposal.
60-minute scoping call
One workflow, one success metric, and a 12-week first-release proposal.
Book a Scoping Call- Nearly two decades of delivery
