OPERATIONS LEAD
Good people lose days every week to intake, drafting and reporting.
First build: 01 Intake and triageCincinnati, Ohio · AI consulting
AI consultant in Cincinnati, Ohio. We build what we recommend.
DH Studios is a Cincinnati AI consulting studio led by Drayton Highlander, an industrial engineer. We find the one workflow in your operation where AI earns its keep, draw it on one page, then build it as an AI agent inside the systems you already run. A person approves every hand-off.
Nothing ships without a signature.
AI consulting
What an AI consultant does for a Cincinnati operation
Most teams don't need an AI strategy deck. They need one piece of work that runs by hand today to run on its own tomorrow, with someone they trust signing off.
That's the job, in four parts:
- Find the workflow. We spend about two weeks inside your operation and look for the work that costs good people the most hours each week: requests read and routed by hand, replies drafted from scratch, reports pulled from three systems.
- Decide what to do about it. Build an agent, use a feature in software you already pay for, or leave it alone.
- Draw it. One page shows what the agent watches, what it drafts and who signs. You sign the drawing, with a fixed scope and price, before anything is built.
- Build it and hand it over. We build to the signed drawing, run it on real work while your team checks every hand-off, and train your people to run it.
AI consultant, software vendor or IT company?
A software vendor sells you its product. An IT company keeps your systems running. An AI consultant should start from your operation, not from a product, and should be able to show you a running result. We start from one workflow and end with an agent running inside the tools you already have.
Who it's for
Who we build for
OWNER
Every approval waits on you.
First build: 02 Drafting and routing, queued for your one signaturePRIVATE-EQUITY OPERATING PARTNER
You need one measurable win inside a portfolio company this quarter.
First build: 03 Reporting rollups, with a baselineFour workflows
Where AI usually pays first
Four kinds of work, one line each. The detail is on the AI agents page.
- Intake and triage. Every request read, tagged and routed to its owner with the context attached.
- Drafting and routing. Replies, quotes and work orders drafted from your templates and your data, then queued for a signature.
- Reporting rollups. Numbers from several systems become one summary, with every figure carrying its source.
- Dashboards and integrations. The figures people pull by hand, already current when leadership looks.
A Cincinnati result
Towne Properties: the daily pricing report, compiled before the leasing calls start.
Towne Properties manages communities from Cincinnati. Rents and occupancy from Yardi, leasing conversations from EliseAI and the team's pricing sheet come together in one report every morning, checked against yesterday, signed by the leasing lead.
Case 01 · Property managementCincinnati, OH
Towne Properties · Daily and weekly pricing reports from Yardi, EliseAI and the pricing sheet
PRICING REPORTS
LEASING LEAD SIGNS
SENT TO THE TEAM
8+ hours by hand → 10 minutes
per report; running about a month, against building it by hand in Yardi
- Status
- Live in 1 week
- Signed by
- Signed by Leasing lead
How it works
From first call to a running agent
Five steps drawn as one path: a call, a one-page drawing the client signs, a pilot on real work, training the team, then running it monthly. Then the next sheet.
Call
30 MIN · FREE
Thirty minutes on one workflow, free.
You get
A yes, a no, or a smaller first step.
Drawing
ABOUT 2 WEEKS
About two weeks inside the operation, then a one-page drawing of the agent. You sign it before anything is built.
You get
The one-page drawing, with scope and price, to sign.
YOU SIGN
Pilot
TYPICALLY 4–8 WEEKS
Built to the signed drawing and run on real work while your team checks every hand-off.
You get
One workflow live on real work, with a run log and a baseline.
Train
ALONGSIDE THE PILOT
Your team learns to run the agent and to change it.
You get
Your team runs it, with a written runbook.
Run
MONTHLY
Monthly: operated, tuned and reported. Then the next sheet.
You get
A monthly report: what ran, what changed, what's next.
Typical times. Yours are set in the Drawing you sign.
Live 3D
Live 3D, from the same studio
For product makers, we also build live interactive 3D in the browser (product configurators, simulators, real-time renders) on the same CAD the product is built from. Our live 3D work so far is for Sorinex and Vestaboard. Both demos run on the 3D page.
Questions
Questions Cincinnati buyers ask
Are you based in Cincinnati?
Yes. DH Studios is based in Cincinnati, Ohio, and was founded here by Drayton Highlander, an industrial engineer. We work with operating companies and product makers wherever they are; every engagement starts with about two weeks inside the operation.
What does an AI consultant do?
An AI consultant finds the work in your operation where AI pays, decides with you whether to build, buy or leave it, and should be able to show you a running result. We find one workflow, draw it on one page for you to sign, then build it as an agent inside your systems and train your team to run it.
How much does an AI consultant cost in Cincinnati?
Our first call is free. After that, pricing is built around your workflow and your systems. You get a fixed scope and price in the Drawing, before anything is built.
Do you only advise, or do you build too?
We build. Every engagement ends with an agent running on real work, your team trained to run it, and a monthly run if you want one.
How long does a first AI project take?
The Drawing takes about two weeks. A pilot typically takes four to eight weeks after that. Your dates are set in the Drawing you sign.
Which industries do you work in?
Our published cases are in property management, consumer hardware and strength equipment. The four workflows (intake and triage, drafting and routing, reporting rollups and dashboards) apply wherever work runs by hand.
Who does the work?
The work is principal-led and hands-on. One director, concept to running system: Drayton Highlander, Principal · industrial engineer.
How do I choose an AI consultant in Cincinnati?
Ask any firm, us included, five things. Will they start from one workflow in your operation, not from their product? Can they show a named result with how it was measured? Who approves the AI's work before it goes out? Are scope and price fixed before the build starts? Who owns what they build, and how do you switch it off?
Do you only work with Cincinnati companies?
No. We work with operating companies and product makers wherever they are. Our case studies are in Cincinnati, Palo Alto and Lexington, South Carolina.
Specified. Built. Signed off.
Start with one workflow.
Book a 30-minute call. We look at one workflow together, and you leave with a yes, a no, or a smaller first step.
The first call is free. Pricing is built around your workflow.
Book a 30-min callUsually answers within one business day