How a Real Estate Advisory Cut File Research to 45 Minutes

A West Coast real estate advisory and design firm had project managers, designers and technical staff each paying for personal AI subscriptions with no shared context. Their AI work didn't connect to firm files or systems, and nobody had drawn a clear line on what was safe to put into a tool. The partners wanted AI built into how the firm operates, inside a security posture they could stand behind.

North Group picked and standardized the firm on one AI platform, working out the rollout order with the firm's IT partner and connecting it to systems the team already used. A half-day in-person workshop had each person build role instructions, connectors, projects, a workflow map, scheduled tasks and skills. Written AI guidelines set the boundaries. One-on-one sessions mapped each employee's work into a ranked automation roadmap that weighs time returned against build effort and names automations to skip. A written playbook lets the partners keep making those calls themselves.

The work started with platform selection. North Group compared options against the firm's security needs, picked one platform, and agreed the rollout order with the firm's outside IT partner so connections to existing systems were in place before training. A pre-work survey captured how each person spent their week. The half-day in-person workshop was hands-on: every employee left with their own role instructions, connectors, projects, a workflow map, scheduled tasks and skills, built on their real work. Written AI guidelines followed, setting what can and can't go into a tool. One-on-one sessions then mapped each person's work, and North Group turned that into a ranked automation roadmap that scores time returned against build effort and explicitly lists automations not worth building. The engagement closed with a written playbook so the partners can make future AI decisions without outside help.

Small and mid-sized professional services and real estate firms where staff already pay for personal AI tools and partners want one governed, connected platform with clear rules.