AI automation consultant for Wollongong and the Illawarra
I'm an AI automation consultant based in Wollongong. I build AI agents, workflows and automations with Claude, ChatGPT, Claude Code and OpenAI Codex, and connect them to HubSpot and your other systems so they do the boring work your team is paid too much to do. No hype, no science projects. Just hours back in your week and a system you actually own.
You know AI could help. You just don't know where to start.
Most Illawarra businesses I talk to have the same story. Someone signed up for ChatGPT. A few people use it to write emails. Nothing actually changed in how the business runs.
That's not an AI problem. It's a design problem. AI only saves real time when it's wired into the work: reading the inbox, updating HubSpot, drafting the quote, chasing the follow-up, pulling the Monday report. Copying and pasting into a chat window is a toy. A working automation is an asset.
- Staff re-keying the same details from emails into the CRM, then into a spreadsheet, then into an invoice.
- Quotes, proposals and reports written from scratch every time, even though 80 percent is the same.
- Receipts and supplier invoices processed by hand at the end of every month.
- Enquiries sitting unanswered over the weekend because nobody is watching the inbox.
- A vendor pitching you an "AI platform" for $40k a year with no clear idea of what it will replace.
- Staff pasting client data into free AI tools with no policy, no oversight and no idea where it goes.
AI agent development and automation, built around your real work
Every build starts with a task that costs you time today. Then I pick the simplest tool that does the job. Sometimes that's an AI agent. Often it's a plain workflow with one smart step in the middle. These are the kinds of builds I take on.
AI agents
Agents that read, decide and act inside limits you set. Triage the inbox, qualify leads, update records, draft replies and hand off to a human when it matters.
From $12,000
Workflow automation
Multi-step workflows that move data between your tools on a trigger. New deal, new form, new file: the next five steps happen without anyone touching them.
From $8,500
Single automations
One annoying, repetitive job, fixed properly. A good first project when you want to see results before committing to anything bigger.
From $2,500
AI connected to HubSpot with MCP
MCP (Model Context Protocol) and the HubSpot API give AI controlled access to your CRM, so it can look up records, summarise history, draft follow-ups and keep properties current. See HubSpot integrations.
Built with Claude Code and Codex
I use Claude Code and OpenAI Codex to write, test and debug the scripts, integrations and small apps behind each build. The code sits in a Git repository you own, not inside a platform you rent.
Receipt and document processing
Receipts, invoices, purchase orders and forms. AI pulls out the fields, checks them against your rules and drops them where they belong. Humans review the exceptions only.
SEO automation and reporting agents
Site crawls, keyword clustering, content briefs and weekly reports from GA4, Search Console and HubSpot, pulled together and summarised before the Monday meeting. See technical SEO.
Human approval and governance
Approval steps before anything is sent, changed or deleted. Scoped permissions, logged actions, a plain-English AI use policy and an approved tools list, so you can sleep at night.
AI Readiness Assessment
Not sure where AI fits? Ten business days, fixed price. You get a ranked list of use cases, costs, risks and the order to do them in.
$3,950 fixed
What AI automation costs
Fixed quotes after a short scoping call. All prices AUD. No GST is added. Running costs for AI models and software are billed to you directly at cost, and I'll tell you the expected monthly figure before we start.
Single automation
- One process, one clear trigger and outcome
- Built, tested and documented
- Error alerts so failures don't go quiet
- Handover walkthrough for your team
Automation build
- A connected set of workflows across your tools
- AI steps for drafting, summarising and classifying
- Process map, test plan and runbook
- 30 days of fixes after go-live
AI agent
- Agent that reads, decides and acts within limits
- Human approval steps where risk is real
- Logging so you can see every decision
- Evaluation set to keep quality measurable
Not ready to build? The AI Readiness Assessment is $3,950 fixed, or book a 90-minute Problem-Solving Session for $650. Full rates on the pricing page.
From "we should use AI" to a working build
Find the hours
We map where time actually goes. I look for jobs that are frequent, repetitive and rule-based, because that's where automation pays back fastest.
Pick and price
You get a short list of builds with a fixed price, the expected time saved and the monthly running cost. You pick what goes first.
Build and test
I build it in your accounts with Claude Code or Codex, test it on real examples, and add approval steps so a human signs off where mistakes would be expensive.
Hand over and tune
Your team gets a walkthrough and a written runbook. I watch it for 30 days and tune anything that drifts. You own all of it.
What AI automation looks like in a real Illawarra business
These are typical scenarios, not client case studies. The maths is illustrative, but it's the same maths I run in every scoping call.
The re-keying tax
Three admin staff each spend 5 hours a week copying job details from emails into the CRM and the job system. That's 15 hours a week, or 780 hours a year. An automation that reads the email, creates the record and flags anything missing can take most of that away. At a loaded wage of $50 an hour, that's roughly $39,000 a year of time pointed at something better.
The weekend enquiry gap
A services business gets web enquiries on Saturday and replies Monday. By then the customer has booked someone else. An AI agent qualifies the enquiry, answers the common questions from your own price guide, books a call into the calendar and logs it all in HubSpot. A human checks anything unusual on Monday.
The quote that takes two hours
Every quote starts from a blank document. An assistant trained on your past quotes and price list drafts the first version from the deal details in 2 minutes. The estimator spends 20 minutes checking and adjusting, not 2 hours writing. With HubSpot quotes and line items pulling current prices, it goes out the same day.
The Monday report
Someone spends Monday morning pulling numbers from GA4, Google Ads and HubSpot into a slide. A scheduled reporting agent pulls the same numbers overnight, writes a short note on what moved, and posts it for a human to check. Two hours of copying becomes ten minutes of reading.
A consultant who builds the thing, not a slide deck about it
I'm Reece Conley, a Wollongong-based consultant whose main work is HubSpot and CRM architecture, systems integration and marketing operations. AI sits on top of that. Most AI projects fail because the data is a mess or the process was never written down, not because the model was wrong. I fix those first.
The work I take on includes CRM and website syncs, product and pricing data pipelines, HubSpot custom logic, automated SEO, receipt processing, reporting dashboards, scheduled content workflows and agent orchestration with human approval steps. I build in your accounts, document everything and hand you the keys. No lock-in, no proprietary platform you rent forever.
I work face to face across Wollongong, Shellharbour, Kiama, the Shoalhaven and the Southern Highlands, and remotely anywhere in Australia. Local pages: Wollongong · Shellharbour · Kiama · Nowra and the Shoalhaven · Southern Highlands.
Good fit
- Businesses with 5 to 200 staff and at least one process that eats hours every week
- Owners and managers who want results in weeks, not a 12-month transformation program
- Teams already using HubSpot, WordPress, Asana or Google Workspace, or ready to
- Leaders who want staff using AI safely, with clear rules
Not a fit
- You want AI because a competitor said they have it, with no problem in mind
- You want staff replaced next month. Good automation takes the dull work, not the people.
- Your data is chaos and you won't fix it. Start with data clean-up.
AI automation questions I get asked
What's the difference between an automation, a workflow and an AI agent?
An automation does one thing when something happens, like creating a CRM contact from a form. A workflow chains several steps together with rules. An AI agent can read unstructured information, make a judgement within limits and choose what to do next. Agents cost more to build and run, so I only use one when a plain workflow can't do the job. My guide AI agents explained goes deeper.
How much does AI automation cost?
A single automation starts from $2,500. A connected automation build starts from $8,500 and an AI agent from $12,000. Every project gets a fixed quote after scoping. AI model and software running costs are separate and usually range from a few dollars to a few hundred dollars a month, depending on volume. I'll estimate that before you commit.
Do you work with Claude or ChatGPT?
Both. I build on Claude and ChatGPT, and use Claude Code and OpenAI Codex to write and debug the scripts, integrations and small internal tools. I pick the model based on the task, cost and your data rules, not brand loyalty. Where it makes sense, the build can switch models later without starting again.
What is MCP and why does it matter for HubSpot?
MCP (Model Context Protocol) is a standard way to connect an AI assistant to business tools. Connected to HubSpot, an assistant can look up a contact, summarise a deal's history or draft an update, using permissions you control. I set it up so the AI can read widely but needs a human to approve anything that changes data. For deeper CRM work, see HubSpot integrations.
Is my client data safe if we use AI?
It can be, if it's set up properly. I use business accounts with data retention controls, limit what each tool can see, log what the AI does and keep humans approving the sensitive steps. Every build comes with a short AI use policy for your team. If you're in a regulated industry, we'll check your obligations before anything touches client data.
How long does a build take?
A single automation is usually live within 1 to 2 weeks. A larger automation build or AI agent typically takes 4 to 8 weeks, including testing on real examples. Most of the delay in AI projects is waiting on access and decisions, so I keep the decision list short.
Are you based in Wollongong? Do you come on site?
Yes. I'm based in Wollongong and work on site across the Illawarra, from Thirroul down to Nowra and up into the Southern Highlands. Sydney is an easy trip. A lot of the build work is remote, but the discovery workshop is better done in the room with the people doing the job.
What if we're not ready for AI yet?
Then don't spend money on it yet. Start with the free AI readiness checklist, or book the fixed-price AI Readiness Assessment for $3,950. Most businesses need some data clean-up or a simple integration before AI is worth it, and I'll tell you that straight.
Who maintains it after you finish?
You own everything, in your accounts, with the code in your own repository. You get documentation and a runbook. Most businesses either have someone internal look after it, or keep me on a small retainer, from $3,500 a month for 8 hours, to tune existing builds and add new ones.
Free guides on AI for business
Efficiency with AI
Where AI actually saves time, where it wastes money, and how to run your first pilot in 30 days.
Read the guide GuideAI agents explained
Automations, workflows and agents. What each costs to build and run, and how to pick your first use case.
Read the guide GuideHow to win with systems
The playbook for businesses drowning in tools, spreadsheets and double handling.
Read the guideRelated services: HubSpot integrations, systems integration, marketing operations, data clean-up, AI workshops for your team.
Tell me the job you'd love to never do again
Send me the task that eats the most hours in your business. I'll reply within one business day with whether AI can help, roughly what it would cost and what I'd build first.
- Fixed quotes, no surprise invoices
- Built in your accounts, owned by you
- Based in Wollongong, on site across the Illawarra
- Straight answer if AI is the wrong tool
Prefer to self-assess first? Take the AI readiness checklist.
What should AI take off your plate?
I read every enquiry myself and reply within one business day.
Got it. Thanks.
I'll be in touch within one business day.