AI Agency
The AI agency for Australian SMBs.
Strategy, build, automate and train - under one roof. We don't hand out a few licences and a slide deck. We install AI properly across your business and stay until your team actually uses it. Every engagement starts with a free 30-minute discovery call.
Built by an operator who ships
What is an AI agency?
An AI agency builds the systems - not just the strategy.
An AI agency designs and builds AI systems for other businesses - chatbots, custom AI products, automations and full team rollouts - as a packaged service. It sits between a traditional digital agency and a software consultancy. The practical test of a good one is its delivery model: does it hand over a working system your team actually adopts, or a prototype that stalls after the invoice?
XLev is that agency for Australian SMBs. We cover the whole arc - strategy, build, automation and training - so you deal with one team from the first workshop through to the day your business runs on the systems we install.
What we deliver
Everything an AI agency should - end to end.
AI rollouts (Claude)
Claude set up properly across your whole team - operations, sales, finance, engineering - with the structure, training and governance that make people actually use it daily.
Claude Implementation →Custom AI builds
Internal AI tools, customer-facing AI products and web apps built on the Anthropic API - owned by you, shaped around your workflows, not a generic template.
Custom AI Builds →AI automations
The repetitive manual work in your business turned into reliable automated workflows in n8n, connected to your CRM, billing and scheduling tools.
Custom Automations →AI strategy
Half-day or full-day workshops that map where AI compounds value in your business and turn it into a costed 12-month roadmap.
AI Strategy Workshops →Team training
1-day AI intensives for up to eight people - Claude, n8n and agents - so the capability stays in the business after we leave.
AI Training →Operator advisory
Hourly or retained access to an operator who runs an AI-native business - for the single decisions and the ongoing orbit.
Consulting →Why XLev
Most AI agencies sell the enterprise. We build for owners.
Built for SMBs, not the enterprise.
Most named AI agencies in Australia chase enterprise transformation budgets. We build for owner-led businesses doing $2M-$200M - the systems are right-sized, the pricing is real, and the person scoping your work has run a business like yours.
We install. We don't just advise.
A strategy deck doesn't change anything. We roll out the tools, build the software, ship the automations and train the team - then stay through adoption until it's actually being used.
Run by an AI-native operator.
Tom runs an 80-staff SMB on AI today. Every workflow and rollout we ship has been pressure-tested inside our own business first. We understand SMBs because we are one.
Operator-built
XLev is built by an operator who still runs the business. The same systems we install for clients are the ones running 5 campuses and 80 staff every day - built in the open, shipped every week, and battle-tested before they ever touch a client.
Tom Downie
Founder & CEO, XLev · Co-Founder & CEO, Better Tuition Academy
How it works
Four steps. The first one's free.
01
Free 30-min discovery call
Tell us where the business is and where it's stuck. We'll tell you - honestly - where AI pays back and where it doesn't yet.
02
Scope and roadmap
A costed plan: what to build, what to roll out, what to automate, in what order, and the wage-equivalent savings each piece targets.
03
Build and roll out
We install the systems - Claude, custom software, automations - and train the people who'll use them. One team, end to end.
04
Adoption and ROI
We stay until it's used daily, and track the hours saved so the return is visible, not assumed.
FAQ
AI agency questions, answered.
What does an AI agency do?+
An AI agency designs and builds AI systems for other businesses - chatbots, custom AI products, automations and full team rollouts - as a packaged service. The good ones hand over a working system your team actually adopts; the weak ones stop at a prototype or a strategy deck. XLev covers strategy, build, automation and training under one roof.
What is an AI agency?+
An AI agency is a firm that implements artificial intelligence for other companies as a service - it sits between a traditional digital agency and a software consultancy. For an Australian SMB, the practical test is the delivery model: does the agency install systems your people use every day, or just sell you advice and licences?
How much does an AI agency cost in Australia?+
It depends entirely on scope. At XLev, AI strategy workshops run from about $5,000, custom builds and automations from about $5,000, a full Claude rollout typically $25,000-$80,000, and ongoing advisory is $599/hour or a monthly retainer. Every engagement starts with a free discovery call and a fixed, scoped quote - no open-ended hourly surprises.
Is an AI automation agency worth it?+
It is when the automations are scoped against real, measurable savings - hours of manual work removed at fully-loaded wage rates, net of subscription cost - and built for reliability rather than as a demo. It isn't when an 'agency' just resells a thin no-code layer. We scope every automation against wage-equivalent savings before we build it.
What's the difference between an AI agency and an AI consultant?+
An AI consultant typically advises - where to apply AI, what to prioritise. An AI agency builds and ships the systems. XLev does both: operator advisory when you want a second pair of eyes, and full delivery when a decision turns into a Claude rollout, a custom build or an automation.
Do you work with businesses outside Sydney?+
Yes. XLev is Sydney-based (Northern Beaches) and works with SMBs Australia-wide - Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and regional - remote-first, with in-person workshops and training available. Most build and automation work is delivered remotely.
Related reading
How we think about installing AI in an SMB.
Operator notes behind the systems we build for clients.
AI Strategy · 7 min read
AI governance for Australian SMBs: a one-page policy you'll actually follow
What goes into a working AI policy for a 5-200 staff Australian business - data handling, IP, allowed tools, breach reporting - and the policies that look good on paper but quietly get ignored.
Read article →
Claude Implementation · 6 min read
Claude Projects that survive a year (and ones that don't)
What separates a Claude Project that's still useful 12 months in from one the team quietly stops opening after week six - and the maintenance habits that keep them sharp.
Read article →
Claude Implementation · 9 min read
Rolling out Claude properly across an SMB
What Claude.ai Teams looks like when it's installed correctly - projects, skills, governance and the rollout sequence that turns a few licences into a working AI operation.
Read article →
Book a discovery call
Tell us where the business is stuck.
The first 30 minutes are free. We'll tell you honestly where AI pays back in your business and where it doesn't yet - and what the first project should be.