Raider Generation · May 18, 2026
AI is Creeping into Rapid City SD
By Adrianna Brzozowski
“Embrace it, learn it, use it, and don't be afraid of it, because whether we like it or not, it's not going anywhere.”Read the article →
AI development · Youngstown, Ohio
We build AI that fits how you already work.
Custom AI for businesses and public agencies
We build AI for organizations that need it working every day. It can run entirely on your own computers, so nothing you put into it leaves the building. Tell us what you are trying to do and we will tell you honestly whether AI is the right tool for it.
- 8 to 1Owners who say AI is adding jobs, for each who says it is cutting them (47% to 6%)U.S. Chamber · 2026
- 65%Of workers at companies using AI say it made them more productiveGallup · Feb 2026
- 41%Of small businesses using AI use it for marketing, the most common useU.S. Chamber · 2026
- $250Median monthly AI spend for small businesses that pay for itU.S. Chamber · 2026
AI in America, 2026
What the rest of America is doing with AI
If you are wondering whether everyone else is already using AI, what they use it for, and what it means for your staff, here is what the latest national surveys say.
3 in 4
Most businesses have not started
About three in four U.S. businesses did not report using AI in their work in mid-September. Use has risen steadily, from 17.2% last November to 23.8%.
If you have not started, you are not behind. You have time to do it carefully.
U.S. Census Bureau, Sept 2026
41%
The first jobs are ordinary office work
Small businesses that use AI use it most for marketing (41%), then improving the customer experience (35%), keeping track of customers (31%) and accounting (31%).
Start with a task your staff already does every week.
U.S. Chamber of Commerce, 2026
47% · 6%
It is adding jobs more than cutting them
47% of small-business owners using AI say it is creating jobs in their business. 6% say it lets them reduce staff.
For most small businesses, AI takes the repeat work so the same people can handle more.
U.S. Chamber of Commerce, 2026
$250
Starting does not take a big budget
Small businesses that pay for AI spend a median of $250 a month, and about two in five use only free tools.
Free tools are a good way to learn. When your files need to stay in the office, the AI can run on your own computers.
U.S. Chamber of Commerce, 2026
52%
Your staff may already be using it
Just over half of U.S. workers use AI in their job, and 15% use it every day. 47% say their employer has brought AI tools in.
A plan that suits your business works better than everyone finding their own way.
Gallup, May 2026
71%
Feeling unsure is normal
71% of small-business owners expect AI to help their business, but fewer call themselves knowledgeable about it this year (68%) than last (74%).
If AI still feels unclear, ask us on a free call. We will tell you plainly whether it fits.
U.S. Chamber of Commerce, 2026
Sources
- U.S. Census Bureau, Business Trends and Outlook Survey: businesses that used AI in any business function in the last two weeks, Sept 7–20, 2026 (published Oct 8, 2026), and Nov 17–30, 2025.
- U.S. Chamber of Commerce Technology Engagement Center, Empowering Small Business: The Impact of Technology on U.S. Small Business, 2026. Survey of small businesses with fewer than 250 employees by Teneo Research, fielded July 23–Aug 6, 2026.
- Gallup, Organizational AI Adoption Jumps Six Points, July 20, 2026. 22,573 employed U.S. adults, May 6–20, 2026.
- Gallup, Rising AI Adoption Spurs Workforce Changes, April 12, 2026. 23,717 employed U.S. adults, Feb 4–19, 2026.
Where AI helps
The work nobody wants to do twice
Most of what AI does well in a business is repeat work: retyping an order, answering the same question for the tenth time that day, building the same report every Monday.
We start with one of those tasks, build a tool that does it, and run it beside the way you work now until the results match. If no task will pay for itself, we say so before you spend money.
What we build
Tools that take repeat work off your staff
Each one is built for one job in your business, priced before any work starts, and tested beside your staff before it is switched on.
New inquiries
Answers the questions customers ask every day on your website and by text, takes down the details of each new job, and sends it to the right person.
Paperwork into your system
Reads invoices, purchase orders and intake forms and enters them where they belong. Anything it is unsure of goes to a person to check.
Quotes and estimates
Reads a drawing, an email or a request for quote and fills in your quote sheet, ready for you to check and send.
Answers from your own files
Ask a question of your manuals, contracts, price lists and past jobs in plain English, and get the answer with the page it came from.
The weekly numbers
Pulls figures from your accounting, scheduling and sales software into one report every week, without anyone copying and pasting.
AI that stays in your building
Runs on your own computer with Guaardvark, our open-source platform, for offices with rules about where files can go.
Services
From the first call to a system your team uses every day
Custom AI Development
An AI system built around your problem and your data: choosing the model, testing it against real cases, and putting it where it needs to run.
Learn more →RAG
AI That Answers From Your Documents
Connects AI to your own manuals, records and files, and shows the source for every answer so people can check it.
Learn more →Offline AI Systems
AI that runs entirely on your own computers, for offices and agencies with rules about where data can go. Nothing is sent to an outside service.
Learn more →AI Strategy and Consulting
An honest assessment of where AI fits your business, what it will cost, and where it does not fit.
Learn more →Managed AI Systems
We look after the system once it is running: updates, checks against real results, and fixes when something changes.
Learn more →Web and App Development
Websites and web applications, built to work with the AI tools behind them.
Learn more →
How it works
One task at a time, at a fixed price
You get the price in writing after a free call, before any work starts. A single automation usually takes four to six weeks.
- One automation
- $2,500–$7,500
- Upkeep, if you want us to look after it
- from $300/mo
- Pilot for a larger program
- $15,000
- Company-wide programs
- $75,000–$300,000
- 01
A free call
Tell us where the hours go. We pick the one task that will pay for itself first, and if none will, we say so.
- 02
A fixed quote
One price, in writing, for one automation, before any work starts.
- 03
Built beside your staff
The tool runs alongside the way you work now until its results match. Then you switch it on.
- 04
Looked after
If you want, we keep it running and up to date for a monthly fee. If not, it is yours to run.
Our platform
Guaardvark, the AI platform we built and use
Guaardvark is our own AI platform. It runs on your own computers: it searches your documents, answers questions, and handles voice and images, with nothing sent to an outside service. It is free and open source, and we run our own business on it every day.
It needs a Linux computer with an NVIDIA graphics card that has 16 GB of memory.
Track record
Nearly two decades of work for business and government
Albenze has built technology, automation and infrastructure for companies and public agencies since 2008.
- Procter & Gamble
- The J.M. Smucker Co.
- U.S. Dept. of Justice
- FBI
- State of Ohio
- U.S. Fish & Wildlife
Recent clients
- United Wood Products
- Imperial Data Center
- Broken Anvil Metalworks
Youngstown and the Valley
A Youngstown company
Albenze is based in Youngstown, Ohio. We work with businesses across the Mahoning Valley, and with clients nationwide by phone and video.
The manufacturers, distributors, trades, medical and law offices around us all handle some version of the same paperwork, questions and reports every week. That is where we start.
In the news
What others have written
Also in the news
Salem News · December 5, 2020
Music video filmed in Salem
Glass Alice filmed its “Gravity” music video in downtown Salem, Ohio, directed by Dean Albenze and filmmaker George Ashton.
Questions
Frequently asked
What does Albenze do?
Albenze builds custom AI tools for businesses and public agencies: tools that answer from your own documents, enter paperwork, draft quotes and build reports, and AI that runs entirely on your own computers. We take each project from the first call to a working system, and look after it afterward if you want.
Where is Albenze located?
Albenze is based in Youngstown, Ohio. We work with businesses across the Mahoning Valley, and with clients nationwide by phone and video.
What does an AI automation cost?
One automation costs $2,500 to $7,500 at a fixed price, with upkeep from $300 a month if you want us to look after it. Larger programs that connect several systems start with a $15,000 pilot.
Can the AI run without sending our files outside the office?
Yes. We build systems that run entirely on your own computers, using Guaardvark, the open-source platform we develop. Nothing you put into it is sent to an outside service.
Who will we be working with?
The people who design your system are the people who build it, and the same people answer the phone after it is running.
Next step
Tell us what you are trying to do
We will tell you honestly whether AI is the right tool for it, and what it would cost.