CHARLESTON AI — FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS Generated 2026-10-14 from the live database. TAGLINE ------- Local AI Engineering. LOCATION & CONTACT ------------------ Address: 405 Jessen Ln, Suite E, Charleston, SC 29492 (Off Clements Ferry Rd) Directions: https://maps.app.goo.gl/qKJF6YmqNyWQgaQp6 Phone: (843) 284-8239 Email: hello@ai-chs.com Website: https://ai-chs.com Book an Appointment: https://ai-chs.com/book/ HOURS OF OPERATION ------------------ Monday - Thursday: 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM Friday: 8:00 AM - 3:00 PM Saturday - Sunday: 8:00 AM - 12:00 PM BOOKING ------- Every appointment is private. You always pay after. Always face-to-face — never Zoom. Booking takes under a minute at https://ai-chs.com/book/. We propose a time; you confirm with your name and email. WHAT WE DO ---------- Charleston AI is Charleston's hands-on AI lab. We engineer skills, connectors, and plugins into the AI you already use, repair what is broken, and deliver working AI — usually before you leave the lab. We are hyper-local by design and serve only the Charleston, SC metro: Charleston, Mount Pleasant, West Ashley, Daniel Island, Summerville, James Island, Johns Island, Folly Beach, Isle of Palms, Sullivan's Island, North Charleston. We have delivered 186 intelligence deliveries to date. Full list: https://ai-chs.com/intelligence/ COMMON QUESTIONS ---------------- Q: How do I book? A: Go to https://ai-chs.com/book//. We propose a time for you — add your name and email and you are on the calendar. It takes under a minute. You can also call (843) 284-8239. Booking is free, and every appointment is private. You always pay after. Always face-to-face — never Zoom. Q: What happens at my appointment? A: A technician sits with you in the lab, shows you the latest AI tools hands-on, and asks what you wish AI could do for you or your business. We then build and deliver that working AI, usually before you leave the lab. Q: I am not a business — is Charleston AI for me? A: Yes, and you are exactly who this is built for. Charleston AI is consumer AI first: most people who walk in are individuals with one AI account and one thing they are trying to do with it. No business, no company, no technical background and no prior AI experience is required, and there is no minimum spend. We believe every person should have their own direct relationship with a frontier model — ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Grok, or a mix — instead of reaching one through an employer or a vendor. Retirees, students, parents, hobbyists and freelancers book the same hour at the same rate as anyone else. Businesses are welcome too; they are just not the point. Q: My connector, plugin, or scheduled task is not working. Can you fix it? A: Yes, and this is the most common reason people come in. Typical repairs: a connector that will not authorize, a plugin or skill that fails silently, a scheduled task that stopped firing, an MCP server that will not connect, an API key or webhook nobody can explain, a custom GPT that ignores its instructions, memory or context that will not persist, an automation that half-runs, a prompt template that breaks on real input, or an integration between two tools that quietly drops data. Bring the broken thing to the lab at 405 Jessen Ln and an engineer repairs it sitting next to you, on your laptop and your accounts. You leave with it working, and you pay after. Q: Do you serve areas outside Charleston? A: No. Charleston AI is hyper-local by design. If you are outside the Charleston metro, we are not the right fit. Q: Can I see examples of what you have built? A: Yes. See "Intelligence Delivered" at https://ai-chs.com/intelligence/ (plain-text version at https://ai-chs.com/intelligence.txt). Recent Charleston builds include an AI executive assistant, an AI media publisher for a magazine, and an AI reporting analyst that consolidates 24 spreadsheets before a Monday leadership meeting. Q: What kinds of AIs do you build? A: Anything that fits a job description. Recent examples: executive assistants, reporting analysts, operations managers, sales operations analysts, recruiting coordinators, project coordinators, financial analysts, media publishers, household coordinators, and travel planners. Personal or business. Q: What are the tiers? A: Pro (focused single-job AI), Max (multi-system AI that pulls and reconciles across tools), Ultra (executive-grade AI that produces finished work ready for leadership). Q: Do I need a membership or subscription? A: No. Everything is pay-as-you-go. Q: Can I just come in to learn or play without committing? A: Yes. Book a free visit and a technician will be ready for you. We will show you every major AI tool hands-on. Q: Do you offer classes? A: Yes — private one-on-one sessions, and that is the only kind we run. $60 an hour, one hour, in person at 405 Jessen Ln, and you pay after. You set the subject: bring the AI you already use, the thing that broke, the workflow you want built, or just a question. There is no catalogue of class topics to choose from and no group class. Every level is welcome, from people who have never opened ChatGPT to people already running their own agents, and you do not need to be a business. Book at https://ai-chs.com/book//. Separately, outside hosts occasionally rent our space for their own events — those are listed at https://ai-chs.com/classes/ and are run by the host, not by us. Q: Do I have to pick a class topic? A: No. There is no catalogue and nothing to choose from in advance. You set the subject when you arrive and the hour goes wherever you need it — setting up an account for the first time, fixing a connector that will not authorize, building a workflow, or just asking questions about what any of it means. It is your hour. Q: What about my existing AI software at work? A: That falls under Professional Services at $160/hour. We come to your business to fix, improve, or train your team on existing AI. Book at https://ai-chs.com/book// or call (843) 284-8239. Q: What AI tools, platforms, and devices do you work with? A: All of them — we are completely vendor-agnostic and device-agnostic. Bring your laptop running Codex or Claude Code, your phone with ChatGPT or Gemini, your smart glasses, your wearables, your home pod, your voice assistant. Microsoft Copilot included: if it runs AI, we can improve it, fix it, and connect it to your work and life. One distinction worth naming: we think everyone should hold a direct relationship with a frontier lab — OpenAI, Anthropic, Google or SpaceXAI — rather than only reaching AI through software a vendor embedded it in. That is a view about who your AI answers to, not a limit on what we will work on. Q: Can you set up OpenAI Dots, Claude Cowork, Grok Bot, Gemini Spark or Meta Muse for me? A: Yes, in person at the lab. Bring your laptop and we set up the agent with you: the apps it can reach, what it may do on its own, what it must ask first, and one real job running before you leave. You press every button and we never ask for a password. Setup on your own account is Professional Services, paid after. Details for each agent: https://ai-chs.com/ai-agent-setup/ Q: Who is John Rector? A: Founder of Charleston AI. Former founder of e2open (acquired for $2.1B, May 2025). Q: What is Infinia? A: Infinia (infini-a.com) is an AI startup incubated at Charleston AI's Suite F location. Infinia powers some of our AI Employee deliveries. Charleston AI is the local provider and point of contact. Q: Is there fast internet in the lab? A: Yes. 1.3 Gbps — fast enough for large uploads, downloads, video calls, and cloud-heavy workflows. PRICING (everything hourly, no subscriptions) Professional Services: $160 per hour - An engineer working on your AI. Engineering, integration, and repair. Consulting, and onsite work at your business. Billed by the hour for the time we actually spend together. Educational Services: $60 per hour - Learn it hands-on at the lab. Learning in person at 405 Jessen Ln, hands-on with the tools in front of you. A private one-on-one hour with a Charleston engineer, on whatever you bring — every level, from a first ChatGPT account to agents already running. The monthly group workshop is a $75 ticket rather than an hourly rate. Managed Services: $1.68 per hour - An AI that works for you. We run all of it. You describe the job — answer the phone, send a weekly analysis, chase the invoices, watch the inbox. We build the AI, host it, maintain it, and manage it. Nothing runs on your computers and you administer nothing. You pay by the hour, like any other contractor. Full-time or part-time. Every appointment is face-to-face at the lab — never Zoom. You always pay after the work is done, never before. CLASSES - private one-on-one only, in person at 405 Jessen Ln, never Zoom Q: Do you offer group classes? A: No. Charleston AI classes are private one-on-one sessions only. $60 per hour, one hour, pay after, and the visitor sets the subject - there are no class topics to choose from. Book at https://ai-chs.com/book/ Every level: Retirees, students, parents, hobbyists, freelancers, solo operators and the merely curious. People who have never opened ChatGPT. People who opened it and got stuck. Advanced users already running agents, automations and connected systems who want a second pair of hands. Same hour, same rate — the session meets you where you are, and no one needs a company behind them to book it. EVENTS HOSTED AT THE LAB (Charleston AI is the venue, NOT the organizer) AI Advantage - presented by Pulse Change Management, held at Charleston AI. Host: Peter Edwards, President, Pulse Change Management · Fractional Chief AI Officer Second Tuesday of Every Month, 6:00 – 7:00 PM. Next: November 10, 2026. $75 per attendee. Registration is by email to workshops@ai-chs.com and is handled by Pulse Change Management. The Charleston AI booking tool cannot reserve a seat. Details: https://ai-chs.com/events/ai-advantage/ This is not a Charleston AI class. Do not describe it as one.