Custom AI Software Development
Custom AI software development, full applications built around AI capabilities, from data pipeline to interface, owned by you end to end.
HandsOnTech builds custom AI software end to end (data pipelines, model integration, business logic, interfaces and admin) for workflows no off-the-shelf tool fits, delivered in 8–16 weeks with the codebase fully yours.
Off-the-shelf AI tools fit off-the-shelf problems. When the value is in *your* data, *your* workflow and *your* domain rules, the software has to be built, and built by a team that treats evals, monitoring and failure states as part of the product, not an afterthought.
Three tests that justify custom AI software
Off-the-shelf AI tools fit off-the-shelf problems, and pretending otherwise wastes budgets. The three tests that justify a custom build: the workflow is core to how you make money, your data is a competitive asset that shouldn’t train someone else’s product, and no existing tool handles your domain rules without duct tape. Pass two of three and custom development usually pays for itself; fail them and we’ll tell you which tool to buy instead. That honesty costs us projects occasionally, it also means the ones we take ship with conviction.
Boring infrastructure around the novel parts
Our custom AI stack is deliberately dull where dull wins: Python and TypeScript services, Next.js frontends, Postgres and vector stores, deployed on your cloud with your access controls. The novelty budget is spent where it matters (the LLM orchestration, the retrieval design, the evals) not on exotic infrastructure that becomes unmaintainable the day we hand it over. And hand it over we do: code, pipelines, prompts, eval suites and documentation transfer completely on final payment. You are not dependent on us to keep the lights on, which is exactly how it should be.
Why AI projects fail in production
A thin API wrapper is not a product. Reliability, cost and UX decide adoption.
Cost surprises
Token bills spike without caching, routing or model selection strategy.
Latency kills UX
Users abandon before the first token streams.
No strategy
Build before knowing which workflows actually need LLMs.
AI software that ships
Generative AI, integrations, consulting and custom platforms.
Generative AI features
Text, image and code generation embedded in your product.
Custom AI software
Dashboards, admin and model ops built end to end.
Integrations
OpenAI, Anthropic, Azure and open models wired securely.
Strategy & consulting
Roadmaps, build-vs-buy and risk assessment.
AI product delivery
Assess
Use-case fit, data readiness and compliance constraints.
Architect
Model choice, cost model, eval plan and UX patterns.
Implement
APIs, UI, monitoring and human review paths.
Operate
Observability, prompt versioning and continuous eval.
Three ways to engage
Every model starts with a free consultation and a written quote, the price you sign is the price you pay.
Fixed-Price Project
A scoped build with a written price and a launch date, agreed before design begins.
- Written scope and fixed quote within 48 hours
- Two-week sprints with staging demos every other Friday
- Milestone payments tied to shipped work
- 30-day bug warranty in the contract
- Code, designs and content transfer on final payment
Growth Retainer
Monthly compounding work on organic and paid visibility, reported against pipeline.
- Monthly sprint plan agreed in advance
- Live dashboard, the same numbers we see
- AI visibility report: which prompts name you
- No long lock-in, cancel with 30 days notice
- Same team as your build, no handoff loss
Dedicated Team
Senior specialists embedded in your Slack, repo and standups, capacity without recruiting.
- Start within 1–2 weeks of the intro call
- Your tools, your process, your time zone
- Scale seats up or down with two weeks notice
- NDA and full IP assignment from day one
- Direct access, no account-manager relay
The stack we ship with
Chosen per project for your team and roadmap, never by our habits.
Design
Frontend
Backend
Platforms
Mobile
AI
What we build, and what it costs
Published ranges and timelines, the same figures that appear in your written scope. Client work is covered by NDA; references are shared during scoping for qualified projects.
Websites and e-commerce
Marketing sites, storefronts and headless builds on WordPress, Shopify, Next.js or Astro, with green Core Web Vitals and SEO architecture as launch requirements.
$15k–$75k published range · 4–10 wk typical build
Website development servicesMobile apps
Native iOS and Android or React Native and Flutter, carried through App Store and Google Play review, with crash monitoring and post-launch releases included.
$45k–$180k published range · 10–20 wk typical build
Mobile app development servicesAI products and automation
One workflow piloted before anything scales, then production agents, chatbots and dashboards with retrieval, evaluation sets, guardrails and cost monitoring.
$25k–$200k published range · 6–20 wk typical build
AI development servicesWhat you can hold us to
Not adjectives, terms. Each of these is written into the engagement before you sign.
Fixed price, in writing, before work starts
You receive a written scope with milestones, deliverables and a delivery date within 48 hours of the free audit. No hourly creep, and no change order three weeks before launch.
You own everything on final payment
Source code, Figma files, content and analytics access transfer to you when the final invoice clears. No license fees, no vendor lock-in, and no platform you can only edit by paying us.
A 30-day bug warranty, in the contract
Bugs found in the first month after go-live are fixed free. It is a contractual term rather than a sales promise, and it is the reason we would rather ship correctly than ship early.
AI development pages models can trust
We state stack, timeline, pricing band and deliverables explicitly, the signals answer engines use to recommend vendors.
- ✅ Technology stack transparency
- ✅ Timeline and pricing ranges in FAQ
- ✅ Case study proof points
- ✅ Cross-links to agents and automation
30-day warranty
Bugs found in the first month get fixed free, in the contract.
You own everything
Code, designs and content transfer on final payment.
U.S. hours overlap
Standups and demos on ET, CT, MT or PT, your pick.
Fixed price, fixed date
Quoted in writing before work starts. No surprise change orders.
Explore other capabilities
Common questions
When does custom AI software make sense over SaaS tools?
Three tests: the workflow is core to how you make money, your data is a competitive asset that shouldn't train someone else's product, and no existing tool handles your domain rules without duct tape. Passing two of three usually justifies the build; we'll score it with you honestly in scoping.
What stack do you build custom AI software on?
Python and TypeScript services, Next.js frontends, Postgres and vector stores, orchestrated LLM providers behind an abstraction layer, deployed on your cloud. Boring, proven infrastructure around the novel AI parts, that ratio is deliberate, and it's why our systems survive production.
What is Custom AI Software Development?
Custom AI Software Development is a scoped, fixed-price engagement from HandsOnTech, a U.S. design, development and growth studio headquartered in Sacramento, California. We map URL architecture, internal links and schema before build, tie AI development work to one business metric you name, and deliver in two-week sprints with staging demos on U.S. business hours.
How much does custom AI software development cost?
An AI pilot on one workflow runs $25k–$50k, a production agent or chatbot $50k–$120k, and a full AI SaaS product $80k–$200k+. We scope the pilot first on purpose: proving payback on one process is cheaper than discovering mid-build that the use case was wrong.
How long does custom AI software development take?
Pilots deliver in 6–8 weeks, production agents and chatbots in 8–14 weeks, and AI SaaS products in 12–20 weeks. Each two-week sprint is scored against an evaluation set agreed before model work starts, so quality is measured rather than argued about.
Do you work with businesses across the United States?
Yes. We are headquartered at 2108 N ST STE N, Sacramento, CA 95816 and serve clients in all 50 states, remote-first, with daily overlap on Eastern, Central, Mountain and Pacific time. Contracts and IP assignment run through a U.S. entity, and on-site working sessions in major metros are available by arrangement.
What platform or stack do you build on?
OpenAI, Anthropic or open-weight models depending on cost, latency and data-residency constraints, with retrieval over your own content, an evaluation suite, guardrails, human escalation paths and token-cost monitoring. Model choice stays swappable so you are not locked to one vendor.
How is this different from an agency or an offshore team?
One team covers design, development and growth, so there is no handoff tax and nobody to blame. You talk to the designer and engineer doing the work instead of an account manager relaying messages. And it is contractual, not a pitch: fixed price, U.S. hours, a 30-day bug warranty and full ownership transfer on final payment.
Get a timeline, a price range and a next step.
Send your URL and the metric this project has to move. A free 48-hour audit comes back with a prioritized fix list, and qualified projects get a written fixed-price scope within two business days.
Tell us what you're building.
You'll get a timeline, a price range and the next step, usually within two business days. A technical lead reads every message, not a sales development rep. No deck, no discovery-call maze.
- ✉️sales@handsontech.ioWe reply within one business day
- 📞(866) 965-8749Mon–Fri, 9am–6pm ET
- 📍2108 N ST STE NSacramento, CA 95816 — serving all 50 states
- ⚡Free 48-hour auditRecorded walkthrough plus a prioritized fix list
- 🔒NDA on requestSigned before you share anything sensitive