Find out how service businesses are actually using AI
without having to learn anything.
Take a step past using ChatGPT and learn how to actually use AI to help grow your operation & scale revenue.
01
30 minutes
A walkthrough of how work actually moves in your shop, not a product demo.
02
Your stack
CRM, field software, ads, books. We map the work that slips through the software you already pay for.
03
A ranked map
What to implement first, what to leave human, and what we would not touch.
What it is
What an AI operations audit is
An AI operations audit is a review of how work moves through your business (calls, estimates, jobs, invoices, follow-up) to find which of those jobs an AI agent can take on safely, which ones should stay with a person, and what to build first. The Cortex version is free and takes 30 minutes. You walk us through your software and your week. We hand back a ranked map.
It is not an audit of an AI model. Searches for "AI audit" mostly turn up compliance reviews of AI systems: bias testing, data governance, the kind of work NIST's AI Risk Management Framework describes. That matters for companies that build AI. A plumbing company needs something different: a clear view of where its own operation leaks work, and whether AI can plug the leak.
Why owners start with an audit, not a tool
Most small businesses have tried AI. Few have put it to work inside the business. In the Federal Reserve's 2025 Small Business Credit Survey, just 7% of employer firms using AI had fully integrated it into their business. About half were still experimenting. The same survey found that among firms planning to adopt AI, the top challenge was finding tools that meet their business needs, cited by 54%.
That is the problem an audit solves. The question isn't which AI tool is best. It's which job in your company is worth handing over, and what has to be connected for it to work.
Size makes it harder. The Census Bureau found AI use didn't change significantly among firms with fewer than 20 employees between December 2025 and May 2026, while larger firms kept adding it. Smaller shops don't have an IT person to sort through vendors. The audit does that sorting with you.
What the audit looks at in a service business
We follow the work in four areas, using the software you already run (ServiceTitan, Housecall Pro, Jobber, GoHighLevel, QuickBooks, your phone system and ad accounts are common examples):
- Get work. Google Business Profile, ads, reviews. Is anyone replying to reviews? Does anyone know what last month's ad spend booked?
- Win work. Missed calls, web forms, estimates waiting on an answer, declined repair lines nobody revisited.
- Run the shop. Jobs that stall between steps, parts on order with no customer update, the owner report nobody has time to build.
- Get paid. Jobs marked complete without an invoice, invoices sent but not paid, payments not matched in the books.
Most of these tasks sit with your office staff. The Bureau of Labor Statistics puts the average dispatcher at HVAC, plumbing and electrical contractors at $50,090 a year, and customer service reps at specialty trade contractors at $48,890. The audit asks how much of their week goes to chasing work that software could flag and draft for them, so they spend their time on the calls that need a person.
What the audit doesn't do
It doesn't promise a dollar figure. We won't put an ROI number on your business before we have seen your numbers, and you should be wary of anyone who does. You can take the map and build it yourself, hire someone else, or do nothing. If you want to see the method behind it, read how an AI operations audit works.
It isn't a product demo either. Cortex is an implementation partner, not a software subscription. If the map shows work worth building, the next step is the path on how we work: design, build, deploy and manage, inside your existing software. What that build includes is on AI implementation.
Past the ChatGPT tab
Using ChatGPT is not the same as AI in the operation.
The follow-up still lives in the CRM, the field software, and whoever remembered to do it. The audit is how you see the difference before anyone builds anything.
ChatGPT in a tab, waits for a prompt
Agents built into the software you already run
You have to understand AI to use it
We understand it. You stay in charge.
Another tool to manage
Works across your existing systems
Generic workflow
Designed around the work that slips through
Limited business context
Uses the data and systems you authorize
Fixed product roadmap
Built and improved around your business
The 30 minutes
We walk through your work. You leave knowing where AI belongs.
Not a pitch deck. How leads, jobs, money, and follow-up actually move through the software your team already uses.
- 01
Before
You tell us about the business, your software, and what keeps slipping. Leads that go cold. Jobs that stall. Invoices that sit.
- 02
During
We walk leads, jobs, customers, reporting, and handoffs. Named tools are examples, not a certified list we pretend already works.
- 03
After
A ranked map. What to implement first, what integrations are real, what should stay human, and the best place to start.
You leave with
A map, not a homework assignment in how AI works.
- AI opportunity map ranked by time and money
- Priority workflows in ops, sales, and marketing
- What we can actually connect in your stack
- Complexity, so you are not sold a 40-agent toy box
- The first path we would implement
- What we would not automate on purpose
What we look at
Get work. Win work. Run the shop. Get paid.
The audit is not a software tour. It's the follow-up, billing and reporting work inside the tools you already run.
Get work
GBP, ads, recaps, reviews. The listing and the spend you already pay for.
Win work
Missed calls, form fills, aging quotes, declined lines.
Run the shop
Stalled jobs, unbilled work, the owner report nobody wants to build.
Tekmetric
Shopmonkey
AutoLeap
Mitchell 1
Shop-Ware
CCC ONE
CDK
Reynolds
GoHighLevel
PodiumNamed tools are examples we see. What we can connect depends on the audit.
Who this is for
Built for the trades you already run.
From the founder
Most companies do not have a software shortage. They have work falling between the logins.
ChatGPT is a tab you open. It does not watch stalled jobs, missed calls, or unbilled work unless you paste them in. That is why shops try AI and still feel like they are behind.
Cortex implements agents in the software you already run. The audit is how we show you where that is real, and where a person still has to own it.
McGuire Flanigan
Founder, Cortex
Before you apply
Questions owners actually ask
What is an AI operations audit?+
A review of how work moves through your business to find where AI agents can take on routine work, where a person should stay in charge, and what to build first. It looks at your operation, not at an AI model.
Is this the same as auditing an AI system for compliance?+
No. Compliance audits check AI systems for bias, data handling and governance. An AI operations audit looks at your calls, estimates, jobs and invoices to decide where AI belongs in the first place.
What do I need to prepare?+
A rough list of the software you use and the work that feels like it slips: calls that don't get returned, estimates nobody follows up on, invoices that sit. No data exports or logins are needed for the first call.
Do I have to buy anything after the audit?+
No. The map is yours. Owners use it to build in-house, hire someone else, or decide what not to buy. If you want Cortex to build it, we scope the work after we have seen it.
Do I need to replace my existing software?+
No. Your shop software, CRM, and accounting stay the system of record. Cortex works across them.
What software can you connect to?+
Anything we can reach through an API, an approved integration, webhooks, or, where it is the only option, controlled browser automation. We confirm what we can reach during the audit. Named tools are examples, not a promise.
Can AI run locally?+
Yes, for companies that want it. Dedicated hardware you control, cloud models, or a mix. We route each job to rules, a smaller local model, or a capable cloud model depending on the work.
How much does implementation cost?+
Most clients begin with a defined implementation project, then optional Managed AI Operations. Price depends on the systems involved, how many workflows and how complex they are, hardware and hosting needs, and how much ongoing management you want. We price it after we have seen the work.
What happens after implementation?+
Managed AI Operations: monitoring, updates, connection upkeep, testing, and steady improvements.
What is included in the Free AI Operations Audit?+
You apply with a few company basics. We spend about 30 minutes walking through how work moves in your software. You leave with an AI Opportunity Map: highest-value opportunities, integration feasibility, complexity, what should stay human, and a recommended first deployment. No obligation to build anything.
Will this replace my employees?+
The goal is not headcount reduction. It's capacity. Cortex is designed to remove repetitive administrative work, reduce missed follow-up, and give your existing team more time for the work that needs them. Each company decides how that increased capacity is used.
Do you work with companies under $2M?+
Usually not. Your software and the volume of repetitive work need to justify the build. The audit will say if you are early.
Find out where AI belongs in your operation. Without learning it yourself.
A minute to apply. Thirty minutes on how work moves. You leave with a ranked map.