Every agent we build comes with a second agent watching it.
Hardy & Butler builds AI agents that take real work off your team, then proves exactly what they did. Butler does the work. Hardy holds the line: an agent acts on its own only inside limits you have agreed in writing, and anything outside them waits for a person to say yes.
09 steps One sign-off
By default, Hardy holds every run at Check until a human approves it.
Meet Hardy and Butler.
Butler does the work. Hardy keeps it inside the limits you set, records what happened and asks for approval where it is needed. We named the company after the two jobs because every engagement includes both.
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Hardy
Checks every action against the agreed rules, keeps the record, and gives your team a way to stop the agent.
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Butler
Does the work. Reads, sorts, analyses, drafts and prepares, then waits to be checked.
Hardy and Butler are the two halves of every build: one does the work, the other checks it and holds anything that leaves the business for a person to approve.
Aim higher. Hold the line.
Butler aims higher. Hardy holds the line. Every build stands on five pillars, and they spell the name: HARDY.
H is for Honest, straight talk.
Plain English, no hype and no claim you could not check for yourself. We agree the one number that has to move, and we report against it whether it flatters us or not.
A is for Ambitious by default.
We build the stronger version of the job, not the minimum, and bring the next step before you ask for it. Ambition in the result, not the size: we still start small and put it live.
R is for Recorded and proven.
Every agent writes down what it did, what it used and who approved it, and is measured on one number agreed before we start.
D is for Defined limits.
An agent acts on its own only inside limits you have agreed in writing. Anything outside them waits for a person to say yes.
Y is for Yours to decide.
Software does the work and your people keep the decisions. Your team has a way to stop the agent, and one named person is accountable for every build.
AI on screen. People make the decisions.
Nova, Hardy and Butler are AI. Our founder, James Slater, works with you and your team in person, from the first conversation to the day it’s running.
AI does the work. People do the relationship.
Most first agents are one of six jobs.
These are the jobs directors ask for most often, and the easiest to measure, which is why the first build is usually one of them rather than a strategy.
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Operations
Inbox Triage
Reads the shared inbox, sorts it, drafts the replies.
Measured on: time from arrival to first reply.
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Sales
Lead Router
Qualifies every enquiry and routes it within minutes.
Measured on: enquiries answered inside ten minutes.
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Finance
Invoice Chaser
Chases late invoices politely, on schedule, until paid.
Measured on: debtor days.
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Customer
Front Desk
Answers the common questions and hands off cleanly.
Measured on: questions resolved without a person.
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Sales
Proposal Builder
Drafts tailored quotes from your own price book.
Measured on: hours per quote, and quote turnaround.
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Finance
Month-End Assembler
Assembles the month-end pack and lists what is missing.
Measured on: working days to close.
See all twenty-four agent models → Each of the six has a page of its own, with the workflow, the boundaries and a labelled test run.
Tell us about those tasks that never land on time.
You do not need to know what an agent is, how it works, or which one you need. Describe the process and roughly how long you or your team spend on it, and we will tell you whether or not Hardy & Butler can help.