//AI Consultant · North Central Florida
AI CONSULTANT FOR
FLORIDA SMALL BUSINESS.
Microsoft Copilot, ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini deployed with the governance, training, and HIPAA / FTC Safeguards / FL Bar Rule 4-1.6 safeguards your business actually needs. Veteran-owned and based in Ocala — serving Marion, Alachua, Sumter, Lake, Volusia, Levy, Citrus, Hernando, and Putnam counties.
//What an AI Consultant Does
FIVE THINGS WE DO. EVERY ENGAGEMENT.
An AI consultant is not a software vendor. The work is part technology selection, part policy authorship, part workflow redesign, part change management. Here is what we deliver on every engagement, in roughly this order. For the side-by-side vendor reference we use during selection, see our AI Vendor Comparison for Small Business pillar guide.
AI Readiness Assessment
A structured discovery that maps where AI can save the most time or unlock revenue in your specific workflow — not a generic vendor brochure.
AI Vendor Selection
The right mix of Microsoft Copilot, ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Perplexity for your industry, compliance posture, and team. Not vendor-locked, not vendor-rigid.
Deployment & Integration
Tenant configuration, MFA, data-loss prevention, audit logging, and the integrations that make AI useful inside the tools your team already uses.
AI Governance & Policy
Written acceptable-use policy, approved-tool list, prompt-handling rules, and the documentation a regulator or carrier would ask for. Drafted, not templated.
Staff Training & Workflow Change
Live training, recorded reference materials, and the workflow redesign that converts AI from a curiosity into measurable productivity. The hardest part of any AI rollout.
//The Engagement Model
ASSESSMENT. STRATEGY. PILOT. ROLLOUT. ADVISORY.
Most AI consulting engagements that fail, fail in the same place — the consultant skipped the pilot phase and went straight to a full rollout based on a vendor demo. Our engagement model is built to surface that mistake before it happens.
01
Week 1 — AI Readiness Assessment
Stakeholder interviews, current-state AI inventory (what's already in use, formal or informal), workflow mapping, compliance scoping, and a written readiness report. Includes the honest assessment of where AI will and will NOT help your business.
02
Weeks 2-3 — Strategy & Vendor Selection
Vendor selection matrix scored against your industry's compliance and security requirements. Licensing math (Copilot at $30/user/mo on top of M365, OpenAI Enterprise pricing, Claude Team pricing). The acceptable-use policy first draft.
03
Weeks 4-6 — Pilot Deployment
Three to five power users on the chosen stack with documented use cases. Audit logging on. Data-loss prevention configured. Weekly check-ins to surface what's working and what isn't. Most AI rollouts fail because they skip this phase.
04
Weeks 7-12 — Broader Rollout & Training
License expansion to the rest of the team, live training in cohorts of 8-12, recorded reference materials, internal champion identification, measurement framework. The acceptable-use policy goes live and gets signed by every user.
05
Months 4-12 — Ongoing Advisory
Quarterly review of AI usage, vendor news (new models, new pricing, new risks), policy updates, new use case discovery, governance refresh. Embedded in the standard managed-IT engagement at no separate cost.
//Industries · AI Use Cases
AI BY INDUSTRY. EIGHT VERTICALS.
The right AI consultant brings industry-specific use cases and compliance posture — not a generic deck. Here is the pattern Simply IT sees across the eight industries we work with most often.
Medical & Dental Practices
HIPAA-eligible AI vendors (Microsoft 365 Copilot under BAA, Azure OpenAI, OpenAI Enterprise, Claude Enterprise). Ambient scribes, after-visit summaries, prior auth drafting — all with audit logging and PHI controls.
Veterinary Practices
Clinical-record summarization, client communication drafting, inventory and scheduling automation. Same HIPAA-aware vendor selection as human medicine since pet-owner data still matters.
Law Firms
FL Bar Rule 4-1.6 reasonable-efforts compliant AI deployment. Document review acceleration, draft-from-template, deposition summarization. Approved-tool list and the documentation a grievance investigation would expect.
CPA & Accounting Firms
FTC Safeguards-compliant AI deployment. Tax research, document classification, client communication drafting, audit workpaper review acceleration. Vendor-tier discipline that keeps client tax data out of consumer AI tools.
Construction & Contractors
Bid drafting, contract review, jobsite photo classification, scheduling optimization, RFP response drafting. Less compliance overhead, more raw-productivity ROI.
Manufacturing & Operations
Document automation, quality-control image analysis, predictive maintenance prompting, ERP-adjacent reporting. The operational AI use cases that quietly deliver the best dollar return.
Nonprofits & Churches
Grant writing acceleration, donor communication, volunteer scheduling, social media draft generation. Microsoft 365 nonprofit pricing makes Copilot affordable at $9/user/mo for qualifying organizations.
Small Business (5-50 employees)
The default engagement — practical Copilot or ChatGPT Team deployment, focused use cases, measurable ROI inside 90 days, governance baked in from day one.
//Pricing
AI CONSULTING IS BUNDLED. NOT BILLED SEPARATELY.
Other consultancies charge a $5,000-$25,000 separate AI retainer on top of your IT bill. Simply IT bundles AI consulting into the standard managed-IT tier you are already paying for. No hourly meter, no scope-creep surprises, no separate engagement letter.
Tier
Simply Starter
$15
/computer/mo
Proactive endpoint monitoring with AI consultation billed hourly as needed. Right for very small or new businesses exploring AI before committing.
24/7 endpoint monitoring
Pay-as-you-go AI consultation
Vendor selection guidance
Basic AI risk awareness
Tier
Simply Managed
$75
/user/mo
First true managed tier — unlimited remote support including AI vendor selection, deployment, training, and ongoing quarterly advisory.
Everything in Starter
Unlimited AI advisory
Pilot program management
Staff AI training included
Quarterly review meetings
Most Popular
Simply Secure
$125
/user/mo
Adds the full cybersecurity stack appropriate for AI deployment with sensitive data and cyber-insurance obligations.
Everything in Managed
AI audit logging deployed
Data-loss prevention configured
Conditional Access enforced
Cyber-insurance evidence pack
Tier
Simply Compliant
$150
/user/mo
Adds compliance alignment for HIPAA, FTC Safeguards, FL Bar 4-1.6, PCI, and CMMC environments. The right tier for AI in regulated industries.
Everything in Secure
BAA-tier vendor selection
Compliance documentation
Acceptable-use policy authored
Regulator-ready evidence pack
//Meet Your AI Consultant
STEVE CONDIT.
FOUNDER & AI CONSULTANT.
US Marine Corps veteran. 30+ years in IT. Founder of Simply IT in 2020. Lead AI consultant on every engagement — no offshore handoffs, no junior associate showing up after the sale.
Areas of AI Focus
Microsoft Copilot deployment
HIPAA-compliant AI (medical / dental / vet)
FTC Safeguards-aligned AI (CPA firms)
FL Bar Rule 4-1.6 AI (law firms)
Generative AI governance
AI risk management
AI acceptable-use policy authorship
AI workflow redesign
//Coverage · 9 Counties
AI CONSULTANT NEAR YOU. NORTH CENTRAL FLORIDA.
Simply IT serves businesses across nine North Central Florida counties from our Ocala headquarters. AI consulting is available across the entire footprint — on-site for assessment and training, remote for ongoing advisory.
//FAQ
AI CONSULTANT QUESTIONS.
What does an AI consultant actually do for a small business?+
An AI consultant for small business does five things: (1) runs an AI Readiness Assessment that maps where AI can save the most time or unlock revenue in your specific workflow; (2) selects the right AI vendor mix (Microsoft Copilot, ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Perplexity) for your industry and compliance posture; (3) deploys the chosen stack with audit logging, MFA, data-loss prevention, and the security baseline your industry requires; (4) writes the acceptable-use policy and staff training program so AI is used safely and consistently; and (5) provides ongoing advisory as new models, features, and risks emerge. The work is part technology, part policy, part change management.
Why hire an AI consultant instead of just signing up for ChatGPT directly?+
Three reasons. First, consumer-tier AI accounts (free ChatGPT, free Claude, personal Copilot) often do not sign Business Associate Agreements, do not have administrative audit logging, and do not segregate your prompts from vendor training data — making them inappropriate for businesses handling PHI, confidential client information, financial records, or trade secrets. Second, the vendor landscape changes monthly — a consultant tracks which model is best for which job and updates your stack as the landscape shifts. Third, the highest-value AI work in a small business is workflow redesign, not prompt engineering — and the redesign is harder than the prompting.
How much does an AI consultant cost for a Florida small business?+
Simply IT bundles AI consulting into the standard managed IT tiers rather than billing it as a separate retainer. Simply Starter at $15 per computer per month includes proactive endpoint monitoring with billable AI consultation as needed. Simply Managed at $75 per user per month adds unlimited remote support including AI vendor selection, deployment, training, and ongoing advisory. Simply Secure at $125 per user per month adds the full cybersecurity stack appropriate for AI deployment with sensitive data. Simply Compliant at $150 per user per month adds compliance alignment for HIPAA, FTC Safeguards, FL Bar 4-1.6, PCI, and CMMC environments. Most small businesses pay $75-150 per user per month all-in.
Does Simply IT serve as a Microsoft Copilot consultant?+
Yes. Microsoft Copilot — both Microsoft 365 Copilot and Copilot for individual surfaces (Word, Outlook, Excel, Teams, PowerPoint) — is one of the most-deployed AI tools we work with in small business. Simply IT handles the licensing decision (Copilot is $30 per user per month on top of Business Standard or Premium), the tenant configuration to make Copilot useful (SharePoint and OneDrive content has to be findable), the data-loss prevention baseline, the 90-day pilot program structure, the staff training, and the measurement framework. See our Microsoft 365 Copilot ROI guide and the 90-day Copilot pilot playbook for the detailed implementation framework.
Can AI be used in a HIPAA-compliant way for a Florida medical practice?+
Yes, but only with specific vendor selection and a signed Business Associate Agreement. Microsoft 365 Copilot is HIPAA-eligible under the Microsoft BAA. Microsoft Azure OpenAI signs a BAA. OpenAI Enterprise and ChatGPT Team sign a BAA. Anthropic Claude Enterprise signs a BAA. Consumer ChatGPT, free Claude, free Gemini, Copilot Pro, and most other consumer-tier AI accounts do NOT sign BAAs and should NOT be used with PHI. Simply IT works with Florida medical, dental, and veterinary practices on HIPAA-compliant AI deployment specifically — see our HIPAA-compliant AI tools for Florida medical practices article for the May 2026 BAA matrix.
What about AI for CPA firms and law firms under FTC Safeguards and FL Bar Rule 4-1.6?+
CPA firms operating under FTC Safeguards (16 CFR Part 314) and law firms operating under Florida Bar Rule 4-1.6 face a similar challenge — AI vendor selection has to be defensible if the firm is later asked to demonstrate reasonable efforts to protect client information. Simply IT works with these firms on vendor selection (favoring enterprise-tier AI vendors with audit logging), the acceptable-use policy that documents which AI tools are approved for which types of client work, the staff training that keeps confidential client information out of consumer AI tools, and the documentation a FTC Safeguards examiner or FL Bar grievance investigator would expect.
How long does an AI consulting engagement take?+
The standard engagement model is: Week 1, AI Readiness Assessment and stakeholder interviews; Weeks 2-3, vendor selection and stack design; Weeks 4-6, pilot deployment with three to five power users; Weeks 7-12, broader rollout with staff training; Months 4-12, ongoing advisory and quarterly reviews. The pilot phase is the most important — most AI rollouts fail when a business buys licenses for everyone before validating that the chosen vendor actually solves real problems in real workflows. Simply IT runs the pilot at the same monthly cost as the eventual full rollout, so there is no extra fee for pilot work.
Does Simply IT work with businesses that already use AI but want it better governed?+
Yes. This is one of the most common engagement types in 2026 — a small business has already let AI into the workflow informally (staff using personal ChatGPT or Claude accounts, departments piloting Copilot, owner using AI for marketing) and now needs to formalize. The work is an AI inventory (what is actually in use, which accounts, which data is being processed), a gap analysis against industry requirements, the new acceptable-use policy, staff retraining, and the migration from consumer accounts to enterprise-tier with BAAs where applicable. The goal is to harden what is already working without breaking productivity.
What are the highest-ROI AI use cases for a Florida small business in 2026?+
Pattern observation across Florida small business clients in 2026: meeting transcription and summarization (Teams and Zoom meetings plus client calls); email triage and drafting (Copilot in Outlook); long-form document drafting (proposals, policies, RFP responses); customer service email response drafting; back-office data entry and reconciliation (Copilot in Excel); marketing content production (blog drafts, social copy, ad variants). Lower-ROI use cases tend to be the ones that get talked about most — coding assistance for non-software firms, image generation for businesses without a creative function. The ROI math is in hours saved per week multiplied by hourly cost, less the licensing cost. Most Copilot deployments break even in 4-8 hours of saved time per user per month.
Who is the AI consultant at Simply IT?+
Steve Condit is the founder, owner, and lead AI consultant at Simply IT. US Marine Corps veteran with 30+ years of IT experience. Steve leads the AI Readiness Assessment, vendor selection, and the governance / acceptable-use policy work for every Simply IT client deploying AI. Areas of focus include Microsoft Copilot, generative AI in regulated industries (HIPAA, FTC Safeguards, FL Bar 4-1.6, PCI, CMMC), and the workflow-redesign work that turns AI from an experiment into a measurable productivity gain. Based in Ocala, FL, serving the nine-county North Central Florida region.
How do I get started with Simply IT for AI consulting?+
Start with a free AI Consultation. We review your current AI use (what is already in the building, formal or informal), the workflows where AI could create the most leverage, the compliance constraints your industry imposes, and an honest assessment of where to start. The conversation typically takes 45 minutes and produces a written summary you can use whether or not you engage Simply IT. Call (352) 723-5003 or visit simplyit.biz/contact/free-assessment to schedule.
READY TO STOP WONDERING AND START USING AI WELL?
45-minute free AI consultation with Steve Condit. We review your current AI use (whatever it is), map the highest-leverage workflows for your business, scope the compliance constraints, and give you a written summary you can use whether or not you engage Simply IT. No sales pressure, no obligation.
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