Dockhand AIYou steer the ship. We keep the engines running.
Custom automation · Built around your business

Your own AI engineer, without the big-firm price.

We automate the work your team repeats every day, then build you a control panel made for your business. One screen shows what got done, what's waiting on your OK and what needs you. The big guys overpay for this. You shouldn't have to.

Book a 15-minute call See what we automate
Based in Davidson, NC Fixed price, in writing, before we start One small team, start to finish
Your bridge · sample, made-up business2 need you
Missed calls

Texted back 6 calls you missed after 5pm. Booked 3 jobs and got photos from 2.

Review bookingsSee calls
Estimates

Drafted 2 estimates from yesterday's site photos. Ready for your price check.

Check prices
Invoices

Sent reminders on 4 past-due invoices. 2 were paid this morning.

You're the captain. Nothing goes out without your OK until you say it can.
Your crew at work

Pick a job. Watch it run itself.

Each job runs on an agent, software that does one task the way your team would and checks with you before anything goes out. Every agent reports to your control panel. These are ideas, not client work. Pick your kind of business, then a task, to watch a sample run.

See one that sounds like your week? Book a 15-minute call and we'll tell you straight if it fits how you work.

Book a 15-minute callOr get a free task sketch
Chart the course · How it works

How we get your first one running.

Most owners know AI could help. They just don't know where to start, and they can't justify a full-time engineer or a big consulting bill. Here's how we work.

Step 1

Free call and sketch

In 15 minutes we find the task worth handing off first. Then we sketch how an agent would handle it and give you a fixed price. The sketch is yours to keep either way. Prefer to meet in person? We're happy to.

Step 2

Build

We build the first agent and your control panel, and connect them to the software you already use, like your email, calendar, CRM or practice software. If yours doesn't allow a connection, we'll tell you on the first call. Your team tests it on real work before it goes live.

Step 3

We stay on

A monthly support plan keeps it running. We fix anything that breaks and help your team use it well. When you're ready, we build the next thing on the list, each with its own fixed price.

Your first build. One agent for one task, plus your control panel, connected to the software you already use. It gets a fixed price, in writing, before we start. You pay half to start and half once it does what the written sketch says. After that, support is a flat monthly fee, month to month. Each new agent gets its own fixed price. No hourly billing.

Why not just buy an app?Sometimes you should, and we'll tell you if one fits. Most owners already pay for tools that do part of the job. We start with what those tools can do, help you turn on what you're not using, and build only the gaps, like the steps that still end up on you at 9pm.

Built so you can trust it

You approve what goes outAnything a customer will see waits for a person's OK. You decide which jobs an agent can handle on its own.
Numbers get checkedWe build agents to pull figures from your own systems or a calculator. If a number can't be traced to a source, the draft waits for you.
You control the accessEach agent only gets access to what its job needs. Before we build, we show you which AI service reads your data and where it goes.
Every action is loggedYou can look back at what an agent did and when. When you edit a draft, we use that to improve how it works.
You own itYour accounts, domain and everything we build stay in your name. We get access, not ownership. If you ever stop working with us, we hand it all over and remove our access.
Websites

A free website upgrade when you build with us.

Start a build with a monthly support plan and keep the plan at least 6 months, and we upgrade your website at no extra cost. That's up to 5 pages and one round of changes, fast on a phone and hosted in your own account. The assistants in these 5 sample sites are separate builds, priced like any other agent. Watch one work, or open the full site and try it.

Cove & Pine Roofing · sample site
Homepage of the Cove & Pine Roofing sample site
Contractors

Books free inspections, day or night

    Open the full sample site

    Or tap a question in the chat to try it here.

    Come aboard

    Find out where AI fits in your business.

    Book a 15-minute call and tell us where your team's time goes. We'll tell you straight whether an agent can take it on, where we'd start and roughly what it would cost.

    Book a 15-minute call

    Pick any open time. You'll get a straight answer, even if it's no.

    Free, no obligation

    Send us the task your team spends the most time on.

    We'll sketch how an agent would handle it before you spend a dollar.

    1. Answer 5 quick questions about the task and your software. About 2 minutes, mostly taps.
    2. We sketch the agent and show you what you'd approve.
    3. We go over it on a call. Build it or pass.
    Start your free sketch
    Meet the crew

    A small local team, led by Joe Ascanio.

    Joe Ascanio standing by Lake Norman

    Your build is run by a small team that stays with it from the first call through launch and after. It's led by Joe Ascanio, who founded Dockhand AI after 10 years in business development and website design and 5 years building with AI.

    In 2014, Joe founded EB Catalyst Group, a sales, marketing and business development firm for the employee benefits industry that's been helping companies grow ever since. So we build for how a small business actually works: tight budgets, busy people and no patience for tools nobody uses.

    We're based around Lake Norman and happy to meet anywhere within about 100 miles of Charlotte.

    Want this kind of help at home? FirstMate by Dockhand sets up a private AI assistant for your email, bills, appointments and family schedules. Same crew, personal side.

    Visit FirstMate →
    Book a 15-minute call Quick form