How long does custom AI software development take?
Most projects ship in 3 to 12 weeks. Here’s the week-by-week breakdown of what we do, what you get at each step, and what speeds it up or slows it down.
The four phases
Every custom AI project, from a £5K chatbot to a £150K enterprise rollout, runs through these four phases. Only the depth changes.
Discovery & scope
Week 1–2We map your workflow, agree the scope and write the technical spec. You sign it off before any code is written.
- Free 30-min call + written scope
- Process diagram of where AI fits
- Fixed-price quote with what's in / out
- Data access checklist
Build & integrate
Week 2–8The bulk of the project. We build the AI logic — agents, tools, memory, prompts — and wire it to your systems. You see weekly demos.
- Working prototype by end of week 2
- Live demo every Friday
- Each integration tested in isolation
- Audit log + evaluation harness
Test & harden
Week 1–3Edge cases, security review, user acceptance testing. Real users run real tasks against the system before launch.
- Edge-case test plan + run
- Security review (data flow, secrets, PII)
- Admin panel + permissions tested
- User acceptance sign-off
Launch & support
Week 1–2Deployment to your server or our managed cloud. 30 days of post-launch support included — bug fixes, tweaks, training.
- Production deployment
- Team training session (recorded)
- 30 days included support
- Ongoing managed plan available from €249/mo
What makes projects faster or slower
Same project, different conditions, very different timelines. The speed factors below explain most of the variance.
- Clean, well-documented APIs on every system
- Single decision-maker on your side
- Existing AI patterns we've shipped before
- Data already exists in a queryable form
- Managed cloud deployment
- Legacy systems with no API or undocumented data formats
- Multiple stakeholders + committee approval at every step
- Novel use case that needs research and prototyping
- Data trapped in PDFs, scanned docs or spreadsheets
- On-premise + custom security review process
Real project timelines
Anonymised examples from past work. Use them as a gut check against your own scope.
| Project | Integrations | Timeline |
|---|---|---|
| WhatsApp customer support bot | 2 systems | 4 weeks |
| Bank reconciliation + invoice AI | 4 systems | 8 weeks |
| Internal AI assistant for legal team | 3 systems (DMS heavy) | 10 weeks |
| Multi-department AI ops platform | 12+ systems | 16 weeks |
Timeline FAQ
How long does it take to build a custom AI?+
A focused project — chatbot, single automation — ships in 3–6 weeks. A typical multi-integration build runs 6–10 weeks. Enterprise rollouts with on-premise hosting and compliance review take 12–20 weeks. The estimator on the cost page gives you a more specific number based on your inputs.
Can you do it faster?+
Sometimes. If your need fits an existing ClawdBot template, you can be live in days on a managed plan. The 3+ week minimum applies to genuinely custom builds where we're writing new logic, integrations and agents.
What slows projects down most?+
Data access and decision-making. We've had projects sit idle for 3 weeks waiting for SSO credentials or a CSV export. We flag access dependencies in the scope doc on day one to minimise surprises.
When can we start?+
I personally take on 2–3 projects at a time. Current lead time from sign-off to kick-off is usually 1–2 weeks. Drop me a message and I'll tell you the actual next available slot.
Do you offer phased rollouts?+
Yes — and for projects above €40K I usually recommend it. Phase 1 ships a working slice in 4–6 weeks so you start getting value, then we layer in the rest over the following months. Better than a 6-month silent build.
Ready to start the clock?
Free 30-minute discovery call. By the end you’ll know the scope, the timeline, and a written fixed-price quote within a few days.
Mark Austen, Founder — replies within 24 hours