We've worked with enough operators in Nelson to know that the brief that arrives in our inbox is rarely the brief that ends up shipped. The first thing we do on any semantic search (RAG) project is sit with your team for a day before we propose anything.
Nelson-Tasman · Applied AI
Built and supported here – the way a Nelson business would actually use it.
What semantic search (RAG) actually does
Search that understands intent, not just keywords. Your team types what they mean – and gets the right document, ticket, or product from across every system, with citations.
- 01 Indexes Drive, SharePoint, Notion, Slack, your CRM
- 02 Returns answers with source links – no hallucinations
- 03 Permissioned so staff only see what they should
- 04 Re-indexes nightly so results stay fresh
Built on: Pinecone Claude Postgres pgvector Vercel AI SDK
Nelson-Tasman
Why Nelson businesses are a fit for this.
- Nelson is creative, outdoorsy, and full of clever small businesses – AI here is about giving owner-operators their evenings back.
- Aquaculture, hops, tourism, and a deep creative sector. Nelson teams want tools that fit a smaller crew without enterprise overhead.
We work with teams across Nelson: CBD · Stoke · Tahunanui · Richmond · Motueka · Brightwater.
Talk to us about this →How we build semantic search (RAG) for a Nelson team.
We scope narrow, ship a working pilot, then harden it into production. The first slice is the highest-leverage workflow for your Nelson business, so value lands before the build is finished. AI search over your data.
Talk to usThe outcome for Nelson teams
What changes for Nelson teams after this lands: the work that used to need a person stays done, the work that needs a person gets done with their attention undivided. Average search time drops from 6 minutes to 12 seconds.
Not your typical AI agency.
Honest about what AI can and cannot do
Ships the one workflow that pays for itself
Hours given back, never the size of the invoice
*Every engagement is scoped and quoted up front. Results vary by workflow and business.
Questions
FAQ
When does semantic search (RAG) actually pay back?
Inside the first quarter, in our experience. We pick the first slice specifically because it's the highest-leverage workflow for a Nelson – so the savings start landing before the rest of the build is finished.
Do you do hourly billing or fixed price?
Fixed price for the pilot, every time. After that it's your call – fixed price per milestone or a small monthly retainer for ongoing iteration. We don't run open-ended T&M because it disincentivises us from finishing.
Do you have proof this works for Nelson businesses?
Direct case study: Average search time drops from 6 minutes to 12 seconds. Happy to walk you through full numbers on a call.
Will this run on our own infrastructure?
Yes, where it makes sense. Semantic search (RAG) can sit entirely in your cloud account, with model calls routed through endpoints you control. We default to Pinecone, Claude, Postgres pgvector, Vercel AI SDK but the architecture supports your existing platform choices.
Skip the pitch.
Tell us the workflow and we'll come back with what we'd build first.
Get in touch
Talk to us about this
Tell us what you're trying to do and we'll reply with how we'd build it — no obligation.