Use AI on your own data, kept private
I set up your own AI agent on a computer you own. It answers from your own files and shows where each answer came from. It can take meeting notes, send you follow-up drafts and run routine tasks, and nothing goes out until a person approves it. I keep it updated, backed up and watched. I'm a software engineer and I work AI native.
- In business since 2020
- You own the computer or the cloud account
- Based in Hollister, California
- We respond within 24 hours
Why people ask for this
Our files can't go to a public AI
Client files, HR records and financial records often come with rules, contracts or a promise that they stay put. Pasting them into a public AI tool is a decision your firm has to make on purpose.
Per-user AI fees add up
Most AI tools charge for every person who uses them. A private setup has one computer and one monthly care plan, not a fee that grows with each new hire.
ChatGPT doesn't know our business
A general AI answers from the whole internet. An agent here works from your own documents, and shows which file the answer came from so a person can check it.
What private AI is
Private AI is your own AI agent. It runs on a computer you own, or in a cloud account you own, instead of your files being sent to a public AI service. Your team uses it in a web browser, like any other tool. Behind it, your files sit on your computer and the agent reads them there.
An agent does things for you, not just answers. It answers questions from your files, takes meeting notes and drafts the follow-up email, and runs routine tasks such as sorting the inbox or drafting a weekly report. Everything it writes is a draft until a person approves it.
There are two ways to set it up. The first is a computer in your office. You buy it from the seller, you own it, and you keep it if we ever stop working together. The second is your own cloud account, such as AWS or Azure, for businesses that already run there and don't want a box. In both cases your files are never stored on my computers. I set it up, connect it to your files, and look after it remotely so you don't need someone on staff to run it.
What your agent does
- Answers from your own files and shows which file and page it used
- Takes meeting notes and drafts the follow-up
- Runs routine tasks, such as sorting the inbox or drafting a weekly report
- Keeps drafts as drafts until a person approves them
- Runs on a computer or cloud account you own
How it works
Estimated timeline Audit report usually within a week of the session. Pilot usually 4–6 weeks.
These are estimates, not a promised date. The pilot length depends on what the agent is doing and how fast files and answers come back.
Step 1: AI Workflow Audit
A 90-minute working session where I look at how you work and what files you have, then a written report of what I would build and what computer it needs. $500, credited in full against a build bought within 30 days.
90 minutes, then the report usually within a week
Step 2: Discovery
We list your documents, who needs to see which ones, and how long the work takes today. We pick the computer and agree on one first thing for your AI agent to do.
After the audit report
Step 3: Pilot
That one thing goes live for four to six weeks and is measured against how long it took before. You see whether it earns its place before anything bigger gets built.
Usually 4–6 weeks
Step 4: Monthly care
If the pilot works, we add more agents, teams and automations. Monthly care keeps it running: monitoring, patches, backups, updates, re-indexing new documents and support. Anything live has to be watched, so I don't set one up without it.
Ongoing after the pilot
A few things people have asked their agent to do. If there's something you want an AI agent to do, we can likely make it possible.
Ask Your Docs
An agent that answers from your own files and shows which file and page it used. Each team can have its own collection with its own access. Example: "What is our policy on gifts from clients?" answered from the compliance manual, with the page.
Meeting Autopilot
An agent that turns a recording into a summary, action items and drafts. Example: a client meeting becomes a summary, a CRM note draft and a follow-up email draft. On a computer in your office, the audio stays there.
Inbox triage
An agent that runs overnight and sorts the inbox into urgent, client, vendor and ignore, so the morning starts with the right pile. It sorts and drafts. It doesn't send anything on its own.
Intake to a record
An agent that turns an intake form into a structured record and a pre-filled document for someone to review, instead of being retyped by hand.
Weekly report drafts
An agent reads a spreadsheet each week and drafts the ops report. A person reads it, fixes it and sends it.
Something else
If you want an agent to do something that isn't on this list, tell me. We can likely make it possible. If it's a poor fit, I'll say so plainly.
What stays on your computer
On a computer in your office, these stay on that computer:
- Your files, and the searchable index built from them
- The AI model that reads them and writes the answers
- Transcripts, summaries and the questions your team asks
- Audio recordings, for Meeting Autopilot
What doesn't stay there
Some things have to cross the internet. Here they are, so there are no surprises:
- The encrypted link I use to reach the computer for updates and support. You approve it, I use my own key, my sessions are logged, and you can turn it off at any time.
- An encrypted backup copy kept off site, so one fire or one theft doesn't take everything.
- Software and model updates, which download from the internet.
- Any tool you connect, such as email or a CRM. Those still talk to their own company's servers.
Is this right for you?
Private AI is not the right answer for everyone. For many offices, a business plan from a cloud AI company is cheaper to start and uses stronger models, and I'll tell you so if that's what fits.
- It tends to fit: a business of about 5 to 150 people, with files that can't go to a public AI because of your own rules, your contracts or your clients' expectations.
- It tends to fit: you want answers from your own documents with the source shown, and one flat monthly care plan instead of a fee for every user.
- A cloud plan may fit better: one or two people, a small pile of documents, and no rule about where the data can go.
- A cloud plan may fit better: you want the strongest model available for the hardest questions. The biggest cloud models are stronger on hard tasks than what runs on a computer in your office.
- Not a fit: you want me to host your files. They stay on your computer or in your cloud account, never mine.
- Not a fit: you want the AI to send or file things on its own with no one looking. Everything it writes is a draft until someone on your team approves it.
- Not a fit: your files include patient health records. I'm not set up to take on that kind of work.
The computer, as plain choices
You buy the computer from the seller, in your name. I recommend the model and set it up. If a small part is needed, I may order it with your card and your OK. I don't resell computers. When we pick one, I'll tell you the seller's current price, because those prices move.
There are three choices:
- A Mac mini or Mac Studio. Small, quiet and fine on a desk or in a closet. A good fit for one person or a small team.
- A PC with a high-end NVIDIA graphics card. Bigger and louder, and built to handle more people asking questions at the same moment.
- No computer at all: your own AWS or Azure account. You pay the cloud company monthly, and your files stay inside your account.
How many people can use it?
I won't give you a seat count off a chart. People don't all ask at the same second, and what the computer needs depends on how big your files are, how big the AI model is, and how many questions are really asked at once. I size it in discovery from how your team works, then check it again during the pilot.
Security and data handling
Every engagement runs under a written agreement that says what I can access, how, and what happens to the data. I set the system up to support your own rules. Your counsel or compliance officer decides what is allowed. I never say a setup is compliant, because a tool can't make that call for you.
- Your data lives on your computer or in your cloud account, never on my lab computers.
- I reach the system only through an encrypted link you approve, with my own key and logged sessions. You can revoke access at any time.
- Data is encrypted when stored and when sent.
- The AI system sits on its own part of your network, with access set per collection of documents.
- Backups are encrypted, with an off-site copy and a restore I've tested.
- The agreement covers scope, response times, who owns the hardware, data access, incident notice, and what I hand over if we part ways.
- You own the computer, the accounts and the keys.
Private AI by industry
Industries
Pricing
Start with the AI Workflow Audit. It's $500, and it's credited in full against a build bought within 30 days. Everything else is priced after the audit, once I know what you have, what you want the AI to do and what computer it needs.
AI Workflow Audit
Anyone who wants to know what private AI would do for their office, what it needs and what it would involve, before spending on a build.
$500
One time. Credited in full against a build bought within 30 days.
- A 90-minute working session on how you work and what files you have
- A written report of what I'd build and what computer fits
- A straight answer if a cloud plan would suit you better
- Not included: The build, priced after the audit
- Not included: The computer, which you buy from the seller
- Not included: Monthly care, priced after the audit
Everything else is priced after the audit. Software subscriptions you use are billed to you by the vendor, and I never mark them up. Results are measured and reported, not guaranteed.
Questions people ask
What is private AI?
It's an AI agent that runs on a computer you own, or in a cloud account you own, and works from your own files. Your team asks it questions in a web browser, and it shows which file and page each answer came from. It can also take meeting notes, draft the follow-up and run routine tasks, and what it writes stays a draft until a person approves it. Your files aren't sent to a public AI service and they're never stored on my computers.
Does my data really never leave the office?
Your files, the AI and your team's questions stay on your computer. A few things do cross the internet: the encrypted link I use for updates and support, an encrypted off-site backup, software and model updates, and any tool you connect yourself, such as email. The section above lists each one. Anyone who tells you nothing ever leaves is leaving something out.
Is it as good as ChatGPT or Claude?
Not on the hardest questions. The biggest cloud models are stronger than what runs on a computer in your office. For day-to-day work on your own files, such as finding a document, answering a policy question, summarizing a meeting or drafting a reply, a private setup does the job. I'll tell you if your work needs more than it can give.
Why not just buy ChatGPT or Claude seats?
For a lot of offices, that's the better answer, and I'll say so. A business plan costs less to start and uses stronger models. A private setup makes sense when your own rules or contracts say some files can't go to an outside provider, when you want answers from your own documents with sources, or when a flat monthly cost suits you better than a fee per user. Whether an outside tool is allowed for your work is a question for your counsel or compliance officer.
What computer do I need, and who buys it?
You buy it, in your name, and you own it. I recommend the model and set it up. The choices are a Mac mini or Mac Studio, a PC with a high-end NVIDIA graphics card, or your own AWS or Azure account if you'd rather not have a box. When we pick one, I'll give you the seller's current price.
How many people can use it at once?
It depends on the computer, the size of the AI model and how your team works. People rarely ask a question at the same second. I don't quote seat counts. I size the computer in discovery from how your team actually works and check it during the pilot.
Who can see which files?
Access is set per collection of documents. For example, a handbook collection that every employee can search, and a salary-files collection that only HR can open. Who gets which collection is decided with you in discovery.
What happens when the AI is wrong?
It can be wrong. Every answer shows the files it used, so a person can check, and everything it writes is a draft until someone on your team approves it. It doesn't send, file or publish anything on its own. If you need an answer guaranteed correct, an AI isn't the tool.
Is this HIPAA, ABA or SEC compliant?
I don't say any setup is compliant, and no tool can make your firm compliant by itself. I set the system up to support your own rules, and your counsel or compliance officer decides what is allowed. I'm also not set up to take on files that include patient health records.
Do I need an IT person?
Not to run the AI. I do that, remotely. Someone on your side does need to open the door once for the encrypted link I use, such as your IT person or company, or you.
What happens if I stop paying or you're gone?
The computer is yours and so are the accounts and keys. The agreement covers what I hand over when we part ways, so someone else can take over. Your files were never on my computers to begin with.
What does it cost?
The AI Workflow Audit is $500, credited in full against a build bought within 30 days. Everything else is priced after the audit, once I know what you want the AI to do and what computer it needs. The computer is bought from the seller, not from me.
Have you done this before?
Not for a paying client yet. Private AI is a new service for GS46 Tech. I build and test every system in my own lab on made-up documents, never on real client data. We start with the audit and one small pilot, measured against how you work today, before anything bigger. I've run GS46 Tech since 2020, on websites, search visibility and automation.
Start here
Takes about a minute. We reply within 24 hours.
A few short questions about what you need, then I get back to you.
Request sent. Thank you.
I'll reply within 24 hours.
What happens next: I read your answers and write back using the contact details you gave. If I need anything else, I'll ask then.