AI Adaptive Consulting builds custom AI tools for small businesses — trades, healthcare, legal, professional services. They deliver a project in 4 to 6 weeks, hand it over, and move on. Ironback stays. Your AI operations partner keeps running, monitoring, and expanding your operations month after month. The question is whether you want a one-time build or someone who owns it permanently.
Trade businesses that know operational problems do not get solved with a one-time project — they need someone watching the systems, fixing what breaks, and building the next thing before the owner has to ask.
Professional services firms (legal, consulting, healthcare) that need one specific custom AI tool for a well-defined workflow and have internal technical staff to manage it after handoff.
Real Cost Comparison
Year-one total cost of ownership — including setup, ongoing fees, and hidden management costs.
Flat $8,000/month retainer, 3-month minimum, month-to-month after. Embedded specialist model. No end date, no separate SOW for each new automation.
AI Adaptive charges project-based fees (pricing not published). Positioned as premium. Each new tool or expansion requires a new engagement and a new invoice. Claims 283% ROI within 6 months and 85% reduction in contract review time, though no published case study methodology backs these numbers.
AI Adaptive: $10,000–$50,000 per project (estimated based on premium positioning) + additional project fees for each expansion. If you need 3 tools over a year, multiply accordingly. Ironback: $49,500–$85,500/year all-in, with no limit on the number of automations deployed and no separate charges when you need more.
Common Questions
Month 1 is a structured operational audit across seven categories of your actual business, delivered as a written AI Value Assessment with EBITDA impact projections on real workflows — not a percentage applied across unnamed clients. Ask any consultant for the methodology behind their ROI claim. If they cannot show you the math on your business specifically, the number is marketing. We run on a 3-month minimum, month-to-month after — if it's not earning its keep, you cancel.
You own the tool, but you run it yourself. When ServiceTitan pushes an update that breaks your integration, when you want to add a second automation, when a new employee needs training on the system — you either call AI Adaptive for a new paid project or figure it out in-house. With Ironback, your partner handles all of that as part of the ongoing retainer. Nothing breaks silently.
AI Adaptive lists trades alongside legal, healthcare, and professional services. They apply the same project-based approach to all of them. Ironback works exclusively with specialty trade businesses. We know what NFPA compliance documentation looks like, we know how storm-surge call volumes spike, and we have built dispatch optimization for crews who work in hazmat suits. That specificity means we are not learning your industry on your invoice.
Industries Where This Decision Matters Most
These specialty trades see the biggest impact from choosing the right AI operations approach.
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Ironback is a dedicated AI operations partner for service businesses doing $1M–$20M. Flat $8,000/month, 3-month minimum. We find where AI unlocks value, build it, and run it. Start with the free Operations Scorecard — it quantifies waste across 7 categories in under 5 minutes.
Or see full pricing · Explore AI for service businesses