Email triage
AI sorts and routes incoming mail and drafts replies based on how you've answered before, so staff only write the ones that need them.
AI consulting for administrative and business workflows
Practical AI for teams that have real work to do.
We help small and mid-size businesses find the routine work that eats up their staff's week, design AI tools to handle it, and guide their teams until they can run those tools themselves. Client data stays private, and a person still approves anything that matters.
Led by a principal software architect with 20+ years building Microsoft 365, Teams, Exchange, and SharePoint services.
New client intake
Running
- Email arrives with documentsAttachments captured Done
- Details extractedNames, dates, and amounts Done
- Client record draftedReady in your existing system Done
- A staff member approvesNothing is sent until someone signs off Review
Who we help
For businesses with more admin work than people to do it
If your staff lose hours each week to routine office work, we can help you put AI tools in place that take most of it off their hands. They can read incoming documents, update your systems, draft client emails, and answer staff questions, all within the software you already use. We work with businesses of about 5 to 500 employees, in fields like these:
- Accounting and bookkeeping firms
- Law firms
- Property management
- Insurance agencies
- Real estate brokerages
- Medical and dental front offices
- Financial advisors
- Other offices with heavy admin work
Common places to start
Document intake
Read incoming PDFs and scanned forms, flag anything missing or inconsistent, and enter the details into your systems.
Client onboarding
Gather new-client paperwork and follow up on anything missing, without the usual back-and-forth.
Scheduling and follow-ups
Appointment reminders and follow-up messages that go out when they should, without someone having to remember them.
Reporting
Pull numbers from your systems into the reports someone builds by hand today, and flag anything that looks off.
Internal knowledge
Let staff ask questions in plain English and get answers from your own policies, templates, and past work.
Services
Start with one workflow and grow from there
Each engagement starts with a look at where your staff spend their time.
AI Readiness Assessment
We review how work moves through your business and give you a ranked list of where AI would help, with what each change would take.
Data Foundations
When records are on paper or scattered across desktops and personal accounts, we plan how to get them into secure business storage that AI tools can work with, and guide your staff or a scanning service through the move.
Workflow Automation
We design what your plan calls for, whether that's a simple automation or a custom AI assistant that knows your procedures. Your staff, your IT provider, or a builder you choose builds it with our guidance, and we check it before it goes live.
AI Security and Governance
We help you choose approved AI tools and write clear rules for what data can go into them, so staff can use AI without putting client information at risk.
Staff AI Training
Self-paced lessons that teach your staff to use AI safely, with a short quiz after each one, so you have a record that everyone understands your AI policy and tools.
Ongoing AI Advisor
A part-time AI lead on a monthly retainer. We report each month on how your automations are doing against the goals we set together, and help you plan what comes next.
How it works
What working together looks like
We start with the workflow that will pay off fastest and add more once it's working.
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1
Ask
Email us about how your office works and where the time goes. If a call would help, we'll set one up.
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2
Assess
We look at your workflows in detail and pick the ones with the best payoff and the least risk.
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3
Build
Your staff or IT provider build the tools with our guidance, and we test them together on real work until people trust them.
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4
Improve
We check the results against the plan and help your team fix anything that isn't working, until they can run it on their own.
Security and privacy
Protecting client data comes first
A common AI risk in smaller businesses is staff pasting client information into free AI tools without anyone knowing. We help you pick approved tools and set the rules your clients and regulators would expect.
Your data isn't used for training
We recommend business AI plans whose terms keep your data out of model training, and we check those settings during setup.
Limited access
Each AI tool can reach only the files and systems it needs.
Your compliance rules
We design around the rules you already follow, such as HIPAA or client confidentiality, and work with your compliance advisors.
A written AI policy
A short policy that tells staff which AI tools are approved and what data they can put into them.
A person approves key steps
Anything sent to a client, or anything that changes financial records, waits for a person to approve it.
A record of every action
Each automated action is logged, so you can check what happened and when.
About
Who you'll work with
Shelton Studios is run by Michael Shelton, a principal software architect who has spent more than 20 years at Microsoft working on services used by millions of people.
That work meant designing large systems that handle sensitive data safely and keep running. The same skills go into designing AI tools a business can rely on every day.
Microsoft TeamsLed the backend services behind live captions and transcription in every Teams meeting.
SharePointDesigned the system that moves SharePoint sites around Microsoft's cloud at large scale.
- Managed engineering teams responsible for security-critical services
- Uses AI coding agents from Anthropic and OpenAI in his own engineering work
- B.A. in Computer Science, Oberlin College
FAQ
Common questions
Do we need technical staff to work with you?
Not necessarily. We design the work, explain it in plain language, and check it before it goes live. The hands-on building is done by your staff, your IT provider, or a builder you choose, with our guidance, so your team can run it afterward. If a build needs more than that, we can quote building it for you.
Will AI replace our employees?
The aim is to hand repetitive tasks to AI so your staff have more time for clients and for decisions that need a person.
Is our data safe?
We use business AI plans that keep your data out of model training, and each AI tool can reach only what it needs. The Security and privacy section has more detail.
Which AI tools do you work with?
We aren't tied to any vendor. Depending on what you already use, that could be Microsoft 365 Copilot, ChatGPT, Claude, Google Gemini, platforms that connect your existing software, or custom tools designed for your work.
What size businesses do you work with?
Mostly businesses with about 5 to 500 employees. Size matters less than how much of your staff's time goes to administrative work.
What does it cost?
It depends on the work. Once we understand what you need, you get a written proposal with a price before any work starts.
How do we get started?
Email us a little about your business and what takes up your staff's time. We'll answer your questions by email, and set up a call if one would help. The Contact section lists what's useful to include.
Contact
Questions? Email us.
Tell us about your business and what you'd like help with. We'll answer by email, and if a call would help, we'll find a time that suits you.
Useful to include:
- What your business does and about how many staff you have
- The tasks that take up the most time
- The software you use today, such as Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace