AI consulting for Australian SMBs
Leverage.Automate.Level Up.
Most SMBs are still pretending AI isn’t happening. The few that move now will compound advantages their competitors can’t catch. We’re the implementation team that gets you there.
We install AI properly across your business - setting up Claude for your whole team, building custom AI tools, automating the manual work that eats your day, and running hands-on strategy workshops. One operator-led team, end to end.
AI rollout · Custom AI software · Workflow automation · AI strategy
Run by an AI-native operator. Every system we ship has been pressure-tested inside our own 80-staff SMB first.
Sydney HQ · Working with SMBs Australia-wide
Built by an operator who ships
Tom Downie runs Better Tuition Academy (5 campuses, 80 staff) and co-founded Northern Beaches Coworking - and builds the same AI systems XLev installs for clients, in the open, every week.
Why XLev
Why owners and advisors bring us in.
We install AI properly. Not just a few licences.
Most businesses hand out a few AI accounts and call it done. We set Claude up properly across your whole team - with the right structure, training and governance so people actually use it every day.
Run by an AI-native operator.
Tom runs an 80-staff SMB on AI today. Every workflow, automation and AI rollout we ship for clients has been pressure-tested inside our own business first. We understand SMBs because we are one.
Strategy. Build. Automate. Train.
One team takes you from AI strategy workshop through custom software, automated workflows, AI rollouts and team training. Not a deck-and-leave consultancy - we install the systems and stay through adoption.
How AI-ready is your business today?
14 questions. No email. Get an honest 0-100 readiness score, your top 3 gaps and an AI maturity tier - instantly, on screen.
~4 minutes · No email required · 100% anonymous
The cost of waiting
Legacy SMBs are falling behind. Quietly. Then suddenly.
Your competitors aren’t going to wait for you to figure this out. The owners rolling AI out properly across their businesses now will compound advantages over the next 24 months that the rest can’t catch later. The only question is which side of the gap you sit on.
2.8x
faster growth for AI-using SMBs than non-users
MYOB Business Monitor, 2026. The gap goes to teams that install AI properly, not the ones who hand out a few logins.
5-10x
productivity uplift on the right workflows
Once AI and automation are properly installed across your team - not just handed out and forgotten.
0
deck-and-leave consultants on the XLev team
We install the systems, train your people and stay through adoption.
What we do
One team. End-to-end AI implementation.
Strategy, builds, automations, Claude rollouts and training - delivered by the same operator-led team. Pick one service, or have us run them together as a single engagement.
Flagship
Claude Implementation
We install Claude (Anthropic's AI) properly across your whole team - your operations, sales, marketing and finance staff on Claude.ai, your engineering team using Claude to code faster, and custom AI software for everything else. Set up the right way, first time.
Explore Claude implementation →
Service
Custom AI Builds
Bespoke web apps, internal tools and AI products built to fit your workflows - not a generic off-the-shelf product. Owned by you, no lock-in.
See custom builds →
Service
Custom Automations
We replace the manual, repetitive tasks eating your team's time with reliable automated workflows - connected to the tools you already use.
See automations →
Service
AI Strategy Workshops
Half-day or full-day workshops to map where AI compounds value in your business. Walk out with a 12-month implementation plan, not a slide deck.
See workshops →
Service
Training
1-day AI intensives for up to 8 people from $5,000. Claude, n8n and agents - tailored to your tools after a free discovery call.
See training →
Service
Consulting
$599/hr operator advisory or monthly retainer. For a single decision, an unblocking session, or ongoing AI orbit across the business.
See consulting →
Latest insights
Operator notes, written from inside the engagements.
Long-form pieces on the operational moves that actually change a multiple. No fluff - what we install for clients and why buyers pay for it.
- AI Strategy·6 min read
What is the 30% rule for AI? (and the 10-20-70 rule)
Plain-English explainer of the two AI rules of thumb SMB owners keep hearing - the 30% rule (how to split work between AI and people) and BCG's 10-20-70 rule (where AI value actually comes from) - and how to use both.
Read article - Explainers·5 min read
Claude Opus 4.8: what Anthropic's newest model means for Australian businesses
Anthropic's Claude Opus 4.8 lands with a 1M-token context and tighter code honesty. What changed, what it costs, and whether an Australian SMB should care.
Read article - AI Strategy·6 min read
The 2026 AI model releases, decoded for Australian SMBs
A plain-English digest of the 2026 AI model releases - Claude, ChatGPT and Gemini - and what an Australian SMB owner should actually do about them.
Read article - Playbook·7 min read
The Privacy Act's automated-decision rules start 10 December 2026: what Australian SMBs must do
From 10 December 2026 the Privacy Act requires businesses to disclose automated decision-making. Here is the three-limb test and a plain checklist for SMBs.
Read article
Built in production
Real systems, already shipped.
What XLev installs for clients is the same operator practice that has shipped these - none of it is theory.
Live · Public
Liftwize
Consumer fitness platform with personalised programs, AI coaching and gamification - shipped solo, live in 3 months.
Live · Internal
BTA Call Centre
Outbound call platform with AI voice agents staff practice against before talking to real parents.
Live · 6+ months
BTA Lead Gen
Embedded quote engine driving real-time personalised packages straight into the CRM with full conversion tracking.
Live · Internal
Operating System
Full management platform supporting the team across 5 campuses and 80 staff every day - ops, comms, dashboards, multi-site.
Live · Multi-tenant
XLev Client Portal
Modular client OS - 18 modules across automation, analytics, finance, knowledge, forms and infrastructure.
Built by an operator who ships
FAQ
Questions owners ask before the first call.
What does XLev do?+
XLev is an AI consulting agency for Australian SMBs. We install Claude across your team, build custom AI software on the Anthropic API, ship n8n automations, and run AI strategy workshops and training - strategy, build, automate and train under one roof. Sale-readiness is available as a specialised service line.
What does an AI consultant actually do?+
A good AI consultant finds where AI saves time or makes money in your business, then installs the tools, workflows and training to capture it - and stays until your team actually uses them. The weak ones stop at a strategy deck. XLev is built to install, not just advise.
How much does AI consulting cost in Australia?+
It depends on scope. At XLev, strategy workshops start around $5,000, custom builds and automations from around $5,000, a full Claude rollout is typically $25,000-$80,000, and hourly advisory is $599/hour. Every engagement starts with a free discovery call and a fixed, scoped quote.
Do you only work with Sydney businesses?+
No. XLev is based on Sydney's Northern Beaches and works with SMBs Australia-wide - Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and regional - remote-first, with in-person workshops and training available.
What is the 30% rule for AI?+
It's a rule of thumb for dividing work between AI and people: let AI handle roughly the routine, predictable share of a workflow while people keep judgment, oversight and high-context decisions. For an SMB, that boundary is where AI pays back and the risk stays contained.
Stop falling behind. Start compounding.
Book a free 30-minute discovery call. Tell us where you’re at, what you want AI to do in the business, and we’ll come back within one business day with an honest read on whether we’re the right fit.
team@xlev.ai · xlev.ai · Sydney HQ · Australia-wide