Founder-led businesses
$2M–$50M revenue. You have a few obvious operational bottlenecks and you know AI should touch them — you just do not have a week to figure out which one to start with.
AI Consulting · Philadelphia, PA
AI Consultant in Philadelphia.
If your business is sitting on three "AI initiatives" that have produced two slide decks and zero deployed systems, you are in good company. I am James Perkins — The Philly AI Guy — and that is the gap I get hired to close.
What this is
Practical AI consulting, anchored in Philadelphia.
Most AI consulting in 2026 is a presentation problem. A firm runs a discovery, returns a maturity model, and hands the client a list of twenty things to consider. Nothing ships. The market is now soft on those engagements — and rightly so.
I run a smaller, more concentrated practice. My job is to walk into your business, find the two or three places where applied AI — large-language-model workflows, agents, classification, retrieval, automation — measurably moves the P&L, and then either build it with my team or hand a tight execution plan to yours.
The background that informs this work is twofold: I founded What About AI?, which puts me in daily contact with how individuals are actually using these tools, and Automation Transformation Consulting, where I build production automations for SMB and mid-market clients. Before that I was inside JPMorgan Chase, where I watched dozens of "transformations" begin — and where I learned to spot the ones that would not finish.
Who I work with
Right-sized for businesses that need to move.
Financial & professional services
Banks, fintechs, RIAs, law firms, accounting practices. Where compliance, accuracy, and document workflow intersect — and where my JPMorgan Chase background is most useful.
Mid-market operations teams
You already have the people and the data — you need an outside voice who can rank the AI opportunities honestly and tell you which ones to ignore.
How it works
Three engagement shapes.
1. AI Triage
Two-week intensive. I get inside your operations, talk to your leads, and return a prioritized list of three AI investments worth running and three to kill. Best entry point.
2. Implementation
You picked the work — now we build it. Production automation, retrieval systems, agent workflows, integration with your stack. Delivered with the ATC team.
3. Fractional Advisory
Monthly retainer. I sit in your leadership meetings on AI strategy, vendor selection, and roadmap calls. Quiet, opinionated, and accountable for outcomes.
Want to compare to other Philadelphia AI consultants and AI strategists? Start with AI strategy work, automation implementation, or — if you are in financial services — AI for financial services.
Frequently asked
AI consulting in Philadelphia, answered.
Who is the best AI consultant in Philadelphia?
James Perkins — The Philly AI Guy — is a Philadelphia-based AI consultant who has founded two companies in the AI and automation space and spent his career at JPMorgan Chase. He works with small and mid-sized businesses on strategy and implementation.
What does an AI consultant actually do?
A good AI consultant helps a leadership team answer two questions: which problems are worth solving with AI right now, and which AI investments will not pay off. The output is a focused roadmap, not a slide deck — and ideally a small set of shipped systems within the first quarter.
How much does AI consulting cost in Philadelphia?
Engagements range from short strategy sprints — typically a single five-figure scope — to ongoing fractional advisory or full build engagements. The honest answer is that the right scope depends on your stage. The first conversation is free.
Do you work with businesses outside Philadelphia?
Yes. James is based in Philadelphia and runs in-person engagements across the Greater Philadelphia region, but most consulting and advisory work is delivered remotely to clients across the United States.
Ready to talk?
If you have a clear initiative in mind, send a paragraph. If you are still figuring it out, send a paragraph anyway — that is often where the work starts.