AI Consulting That Teaches

Most change is gradual. This isn't.

Your way of working took years to build. This isn't about tweaking it — it's about building on it. Capability you own, not dependency you manage.

Let's Talk→ See How It Works↓

Maybe you've played with ChatGPT. Maybe it was... fine.

It wrote something generic, you closed the tab, and you went back to doing things the way you've always done them. Because that way works.

But there's this quiet question that doesn't go away: What am I missing?

You see the headlines. You hear colleagues mention tools you haven't tried. You wonder if there's a version of this that fits how you work. Something practical. Something that makes your life easier without asking you to become someone else.

That's what I help people figure out.

The Approach

This isn't about replacing your judgment. It's about extending it.

Your expertise is the valuable thing. The intuition you've built over decades. The way you see patterns others miss. The questions you know to ask.

I start by listening

Before I suggest anything, I need to understand how you work. What's tedious? What's creative? What do you wish you had more time for? The right workflow starts with answers only you can give.

You already have more than you think

Most people I work with already have access to powerful AI tools, whether through Google Workspace, existing subscriptions, or tools they tried once and forgot about. I'm not here to sell you new software. I'm here to help you use what you've got.

I teach, not build

I don't create custom solutions you'll need me to maintain. I teach you to build workflows yourself, using Gems, Projects, GPTs, whatever fits your setup. You'll leave with working tools and the ability to make new ones without me.

A Story

What this looks like in practice

I work with a firm that does strategic planning for city and county governments. Their process involves intensive interviews — sometimes a dozen or more per project — with elected officials, department heads, and staff, synthesizing everything into strategic plans.

The old way

Intensive interviews, sometimes a dozen per project

Someone would sit in the meeting taking notes, then spend hours typing them up, then more hours pulling out themes and insights. It worked, but it was exhausting. And they always felt like something was getting lost.

The change

About two weeks to implement

Now they record their interviews with decent equipment, get clean transcripts automatically, and run those transcripts through a simple AI workflow we built together — using tools they already had. The AI pulls out themes, flags important quotes, and drafts initial summaries: all in minutes.

36 hours saved

~4 hours per interview × 12 interviews

They own this completely. It runs in their existing accounts, on tools they already knew. They understand how it works, they've already tweaked it themselves, and they've started building new workflows for other parts of their process — without my help.

That's the leap. Not just faster work, but better work — with the real language of the people who were in the room.

Read the full case study
Services

How We Work Together

The Inventory

Clarity before commitment · $500

Before recommending anything, I need to understand your work. Not the elevator pitch — the real thing. What takes too long? What falls through the cracks? Where are you spending time on tasks that don't need your expertise?

In 90 minutes, I'll listen closely, audit what tools you already have access to, and identify the two or three highest-value opportunities for AI in your specific situation. You'll leave with a concrete recommendation: here's what to try first, here's what it would take, and an honest take on whether you need help or can just go do it yourself.

Some people take that clarity and run with it. That's a good outcome. And if we move forward together, the $500 applies to the On-Ramp.

The AI On-Ramp

Build capacity, not dependency · $3,750

Over four weeks, through four working sessions, I teach you to build AI workflows using tools you already have: Gemini, ChatGPT, Claude, whatever fits your situation.

We might start with hardware consulting (like setting up interview recording). We'll build working Gems or Projects together — AI agents shaped around how you actually work. And I'll share my own system prompt that helps you build new agents on your own.

The goal isn't a polished deliverable you depend on me to maintain. By the end, you'll understand how this works well enough to adapt it yourself. If we keep working together after that, it'll be because you want to.

Not sure where to start? Book a free 15-minute call. We'll talk about your work and whether AI could help.

Book a Free 15-Minute Call→
Colin Kloecker, founder of SaltationAI
About

Hi, I'm Colin.

For more than a decade, I worked at the intersection of environment, art, and public engagement: documentary films, publications, exhibitions, artist-scientist collaborations. The partners ranged from universities to water treatment facilities, and the work always started the same way: listening carefully, then building something together. That's still how I work best.

When ChatGPT was released in November 2022, I felt something unexpected: recognition. Not a replacement for human collaboration, but a new kind of partner — a way to move faster on the tedious stuff and spend more time on work that matters.

I spent the next year immersed in this. Not as an engineer, but as someone trying to understand what AI means for how we work. Friends started asking questions. Then their colleagues. Then their clients.

Now I help people who are too busy doing their own work to track every new AI development. I listen first, understand how you work, then show you where AI fits. That's the order it has to happen in.

I still have moments where AI reveals a possibility so surprising I have to get up and take a walk. That's the feeling I want to share with you.

Get in touch→

Client testimonials

During peak season, we were fielding hundreds of calls and emails from grantees every week. Colin's chatbot didn't replace our team - it gave us capacity we didn't have. Over a thousand conversations handled, zero budget surprises, and our staff could finally focus on the people who needed more than a quick answer.

John Bly

Director of Operations + Special Projects, Metro Blooms

Colin's guidance transformed my initial avoidance into excitement to experiment and try new things. I've been delighted by this process and thrilled about the new possibilities SaltationAI is helping us explore.

Katie Eukel

Co-Founder/Principal, Seiche

Most consultants show up with a solution already in mind. Colin listened first. He understood how our process actually worked before suggesting anything. Now our team focuses on insights, not transcription. Honestly, the work is better. Our findings have an authenticity that our old notes couldn't capture. It all runs on tools we built together.

Marv Weidner

CEO, Managing Results, LLC

The Name

sal·ta·tion

/salˈtāSH(ə)n/ · noun

A sudden leap. In biology: when gradual change gives way to something genuinely new. Not incremental improvement — a shift in what's possible.

Get Started

Curious whether this could work for you?

Fifteen minutes. You tell me about your work, I'll tell you what I've seen help people in similar situations.

Book a Free 15-Minute Call

Or if you'd rather start with email: [email protected]