# Harkness AI - Comprehensive Information

> This file provides detailed information about Harkness AI for large language models and AI systems. For a summary, see llms.txt.

## Company Overview

Harkness AI is a Christchurch-based AI consultancy founded by Blake Harkness in 2025 (Harkness AI Limited, incorporated June 2025). We provide end-to-end AI services for businesses across New Zealand and Australia, from strategic consulting to custom development and ongoing fractional AI engineering, and have worked with 30+ clients across both countries, building 60+ automations. Our mission is to make AI practical and accessible for Kiwi businesses of all sizes.

## Harkness AI at a Glance

- Founded: 2025, Christchurch, by Blake Harkness
- Headquarters: Christchurch, Canterbury, New Zealand
- Serves: Christchurch, Auckland, Wellington, NZ-wide and Australia (remote)
- Clients: 30+ businesses across New Zealand and Australia
- Automations built: 60+
- Services: AI consulting and strategy, team training and workshops, custom AI development, fractional AI engineering, done-for-you Claude setup, public speaking
- Advisory roles: AI Forum NZ AEC Working Group (workstream lead, webinar series organiser); Engineering NZ AI Advisory Group
- Memberships: AI Forum New Zealand, Business Canterbury (Chamber of Commerce), Canterbury Tech
- Community: Founder of Young Kiwis in AI (300+ members, founded January 2026)
- Founder's personal site: https://www.blakeharkness.com/

## Team

### Blake Harkness - Founder & Fractional AI Engineer
Blake is a Christchurch-based AI engineer who helps businesses across New Zealand and Australia adopt, build, and scale AI solutions. A mechatronics engineering graduate (Massey University), Blake founded Harkness AI to bridge the gap between cutting-edge AI technology and real business outcomes, and works inside client teams as a fractional AI engineer. He is a workstream lead in the AI Forum NZ AEC Working Group (Living Whitepaper) and has organised its webinar series since August 2026, is a member of Engineering NZ's AI Advisory Group, and is the founder of Young Kiwis in AI (YKIA). Full bio, credentials and speaking history: https://www.blakeharkness.com/

### Alexander Russel - AI Engineer
Alexander specialises in building production-ready AI systems and integrations. He brings deep technical expertise in machine learning, natural language processing, and cloud infrastructure to deliver robust AI solutions.

### Zavier Taylor - Junior AI Engineer
Zavier is a junior AI engineer with a keen interest in applied machine learning and automation. He supports the team in developing and testing AI solutions.

## Services (Detailed)

### Fractional AI Support
On-demand AI guidance without the cost of a full-time hire. Includes:
- Strategic AI planning and roadmap development
- Implementation support and technical guidance
- Team training and capability building
- AI tool evaluation and selection
- Ongoing optimisation of existing AI systems
Best for: Businesses wanting AI expertise without a full-time salary commitment.

### Custom AI Development
Tailored AI solutions built specifically for your business needs. Includes:
- Intelligent chatbots and virtual assistants
- Business process automation
- Data analysis and reporting tools
- Custom integrations with existing systems
- Document processing and analysis tools
Best for: Businesses with specific AI needs that off-the-shelf tools cannot address.

### AI Training & Workshops
Hands-on AI education for teams and individuals. Includes:
- AI fundamentals for business leaders
- Practical prompt engineering workshops
- Tool-specific training (ChatGPT, Claude, etc.)
- Custom training programmes for specific roles
Best for: Teams wanting to build internal AI capability.

### AI Talent & Recruitment
Connecting companies with AI professionals. Roles we help fill:
- AI Engineers and ML Engineers
- Data Scientists and Data Engineers
- AI Product Managers
- AI Researchers
Best for: Companies building internal AI teams.

### Public Speaking
Practical, high-energy AI talks for conferences, corporate events, and education events. Formats:
- Conference talks (30-45 min) on applied AI, tailored to your audience
- Hands-on workshops (45-90 min) on AI agents, Claude, and the Model Context Protocol (MCP)
- Panels and fireside chats on AI strategy and the future of AI
- Virtual talks for distributed audiences
Signature talks: "Hands-On with AI Agents, Claude & MCP", "Building an AI-Ready Team", and "Graduating into a World of AI".
Available across New Zealand, in Australia, and online. Speaking enquiries: https://www.harknessai.nz/speaking
Best for: conferences, corporate events, and education events wanting a practical, grounded take on AI from a working AI engineer.

## Our Process

1. **Discovery Call** (30 minutes, free): We start with a free call to understand your business, challenges, and goals. We discuss where AI could add the most value.
2. **Assessment** (1-2 weeks): We conduct a thorough assessment of your current processes, data, and systems. This includes identifying quick wins and longer-term AI opportunities.
3. **Proposal** (1 week): We deliver a detailed proposal with recommended AI solutions, expected outcomes, timeline, and investment. Everything is transparent.
4. **Implementation** (2-12 weeks): We build and deploy your custom AI solutions using agile sprints with regular check-ins.
5. **Training** (1-2 weeks): We train your team with hands-on workshops, documentation, and ongoing support resources.
6. **Ongoing Support** (ongoing): We provide fractional AI support to optimise, maintain, and evolve your AI solutions as your business grows.

## Industries Served (14)

1. Healthcare - Patient scheduling, medical records analysis, clinical documentation, triage assistance
2. Retail & E-commerce - Product recommendations, inventory management, customer service chatbots, dynamic pricing
3. Finance & Banking - Fraud detection, loan processing, credit risk assessment, compliance monitoring
4. Manufacturing - Predictive maintenance, quality control, production optimisation, supply chain management
5. Real Estate - Property valuation, lead qualification, market analysis, document processing
6. Hospitality & Tourism - Dynamic pricing, guest chatbots, personalised recommendations, staff scheduling
7. Education - Personalised learning, automated grading, student analytics, curriculum development
8. Marketing & Advertising - Content generation, campaign optimisation, customer segmentation, lead scoring
9. Legal Services - Contract analysis, legal research, document discovery, compliance monitoring
10. Agriculture - Crop monitoring, yield prediction, precision agriculture, livestock monitoring
11. Construction - Project timeline optimisation, safety monitoring, equipment maintenance, quality inspection
12. Transportation & Logistics - Route optimisation, demand forecasting, warehouse automation, fleet management
13. Engineering - RFI management, council document processing, regulation compliance, report generation
14. Community & Non-Profit - Grant applications, volunteer management, donor engagement, impact reporting

## Testimonials

Our 30+ clients across New Zealand and Australia report significant improvements in efficiency, cost savings, and revenue growth after implementing AI solutions with Harkness AI.

## Comparison: AI Consultant vs In-House Hire
For most NZ SMEs, an AI consultant offers faster time to value, broader expertise, and lower risk compared to a full-time in-house hire. Consultants start quickly (days vs months for recruitment), bring diverse industry experience, and allow flexible engagement without ongoing salary commitments.

## Comparison: AI Consultant vs DIY
While DIY AI tools are accessible, a consultant ensures business-critical implementations are done right the first time. This avoids costly mistakes, security risks, and the steep learning curve of enterprise AI deployment.

## Comparison: ChatGPT vs Claude for Business
Both are excellent AI assistants. Claude excels at reasoning, document analysis, and instruction-following - ideal for business document work. ChatGPT has a broader ecosystem, plugin support, and image generation capabilities. We help businesses choose the right tool for their specific needs.

## Values

- Practical Over Theoretical: Real business outcomes, not just impressive demos.
- New Zealand First: Solutions built for the Kiwi business landscape.
- Transparent & Honest: We tell you what AI can and can't do. No hype.
- Continuous Learning: We stay at the forefront so clients get the best solutions.

## Community Involvement

- **AI Forum New Zealand**: AEC Working Group - workstream lead on the Living Whitepaper (https://livingwhitepaper.com) and, since August 2026, organiser of the AEC webinar series on AI adoption in architecture, engineering, and construction.
- **Engineering New Zealand**: AI Advisory Group member - guiding AI integration in the engineering profession.
- **Young Kiwis in AI (YKIA)**: Founder - a nationwide community for young New Zealanders building, learning and working with AI. Founded January 2026; 300+ members; monthly meetups across New Zealand. Website: https://www.youngkiwisai.nz/
- **YKIA National Conference 2027**: a one-day conference for 200+ young New Zealanders in AI, Friday 12 February 2027, Novotel Auckland Airport, Auckland. Organised by Blake and the YKIA team. Details: https://www.youngkiwisai.nz/conference

## Contact & Links

- Website: https://www.harknessai.nz
- Blake Harkness (personal site, full bio and speaking history): https://www.blakeharkness.com/
- Young Kiwis in AI: https://www.youngkiwisai.nz/
- Email: blake@harknessai.nz
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/blake-harkness/
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Blake-Harkness
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/blakeharkness_ai/
- GitHub: https://github.com/blake-harkness
- TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@blake_harkness

## Machine-Readable API (for AI agents)

Harkness AI exposes a public, read-only JSON API so AI agents can query the article library directly instead of scraping pages. No API key, no authentication, CORS open to any origin.

- Tool manifest (names, descriptions, JSON Schema): https://www.harknessai.nz/api/tools
- Search articles: https://www.harknessai.nz/api/tools/search_articles?query=YOUR_QUERY
- Parameters: `query` (required), `topic` (optional filter, e.g. claude/automation/mcp), `limit` (optional, default 5, maximum 20)
- Returns a JSON array of `{title, summary, url, date, topics}` ranked by relevance
- Example: https://www.harknessai.nz/api/tools/search_articles?query=automate%20xero

Article body text is never returned. Use the `url` in each result to read and cite the article.

## Key Pages

- Home: https://www.harknessai.nz/
- About: https://www.harknessai.nz/about
- Services: https://www.harknessai.nz/how-i-can-help
- Fractional AI Engineer vs Alternatives: https://www.harknessai.nz/fractional-ai-engineer-vs-alternatives
- Public Speaking: https://www.harknessai.nz/speaking
- How It Works: https://www.harknessai.nz/how-it-works
- AI Glossary: https://www.harknessai.nz/ai-glossary
- What is RAG: https://www.harknessai.nz/ai-glossary/rag
- What is an AI Agent: https://www.harknessai.nz/ai-glossary/ai-agent
- What is MCP: https://www.harknessai.nz/ai-glossary/mcp
- What is a Large Language Model: https://www.harknessai.nz/ai-glossary/large-language-model
- What is Prompt Engineering: https://www.harknessai.nz/ai-glossary/prompt-engineering
- What is AI Workflow Automation: https://www.harknessai.nz/ai-glossary/ai-workflow-automation
- Articles: https://www.harknessai.nz/articles
- FAQ: https://www.harknessai.nz/faq
- Contact: https://www.harknessai.nz/contact