AI Consulting Services for Small Businesses in Eltham: What You Are Buying

Three things people mean by "consulting"

When a small business asks for AI consulting, it is worth being clear which of these it wants.

• Advice. A conversation or a document that tells you what is possible.
• A plan. A prioritised list of jobs to automate, with an order to do them in.
• A working system. The thing built, installed and running, with someone to ring when it stops.

Plenty of providers do the first two. Fewer do the third. Dean Keating's website describes the third: installed for you, not handed over.

How his service is laid out

He publishes four steps. A free call to understand how the business runs. An audit of the work that is worth automating. The build and install. Training and support. He starts with the single task that makes the most difference, not a programme of ten. At the end of the free call you hold a plan you can use with or without him, so the first conversation is useful even if you go elsewhere.

Comparing consultants and consulting companies

We cannot tell you which is best, and we do not rank other providers. Here is a way to compare them yourself.

1. Outcome. Will something be running at the end, or will you receive a report?
2. Tools. Does it work in the email, web and WhatsApp tools you already have?
3. People. Will you deal with the person who does the work?
4. Support. Who trains your staff and who answers afterwards?
5. Cost. Is the price clear before you commit? His is given after the free call, with no published price list and no obligation.

A consulting company may have more people to throw at a large job. A single consultant may be quicker to reach and clearer about who is accountable. Both are legitimate.

An example: a dental practice

This directory lists 13 dentists (10 October 2026). Picture a practice where the reception desk is busy with patients in front of it while messages queue up behind. The audit step would look at what repeats: questions about opening times, requests to move an appointment, confirmations and reminders, new-patient enquiries. Anything clinical, and anything a patient is worried about, should reach a person. That boundary is part of the plan, and it is the kind of rule you agree before anything is switched on.

For public information about NHS dental care, see the NHS dentists guide; the practices themselves are on the dentists page.

What he is not

Not a course, not a phone-answering service and not a chatbot product. He also builds websites and does SEO, details at deankeating.com, which is a separate piece of work.

Where he works from

Horndean, Hampshire, north of Portsmouth. He works with Eltham and south-east London businesses remotely and says on his website that he can visit businesses in Hampshire or nearby. If on-site matters to you, ask early.

Contact

Call or WhatsApp Dean Keating on 07418 627304, or email dean@deankeating.com. See the Dean Keating profile on Eltham.co. Websites: ai-agent.deankeating.com and deankeating.com.

About this guide

Eltham.co is published by Dean Keating, who also runs the service described here. He is based in Horndean, Hampshire, not in Eltham, and works with Eltham and south-east London businesses remotely. If you want someone in the room, say so on the first call and look at Eltham-based providers too. This guide recommends our own service, so compare it with other providers before you decide.