Self Hosted AI: Keep the Control, Skip the Maintenance
Self-hosting is a list of jobs, not a feature. Hardware, install, models, updates, backups, access, support. Keep the control that made you want to self-host; hand the jobs to the people who do them every week.
£500 per month for the software and the hardware rental. You rent the machine — you don’t buy it.
Self hosted AI is AI running on hardware you control rather than a provider’s cloud. Ours is a dedicated machine in your building running open-weight models, with chat, document search and assistants on it. The machine is rented to you and the data is yours; we install, update, back up and support it.
Keep the control, lose the admin
A short call on what you want to control and what you want handled. If you have the person to run it yourself, we will say so.
One rented machine, on your network, in your building. Models, documents and chat history live on it; we keep it running.
The Phone and the Inbox Can Stay in the Cloud
Local AI is for the confidential, document-heavy work. For answering calls, managing the inbox and chasing leads, our hosted agents are up and running in days with no hardware at all — and plenty of clients run both.
- ☁ Cloud-based AI Receptionist
- ☁ Cloud-based Email Manager
- ☁ Cloud-based Leads Outreach
- 🏢 On-premise Local AI
What Self Hosting AI Actually Involves
Self-hosting is attractive for one reason — control — and off-putting for one reason — upkeep. Here is the upkeep, itemised, and who does each item.
| The job | Self-host it yourself | Self-hosted with us |
|---|---|---|
| Choose the hardware | You research and buy it; hope it runs the model | Specified for your team and rented to you, not sold |
| Install the model and the tools | Your IT person, evenings and weekends | Done by us, on your network |
| Connect access control | Build it, or share a login | Your Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace sign-in |
| Import the document library | Script it yourself | Imported into spaces during setup |
| Backups and a replacement plan | If you remember | Agreed before go-live, run by us |
| Updates and model upgrades | You, testing each one | Us, with you, as part of support |
| Someone to ring when it stops | Whoever set it up, if they still work there | The people who installed it |
| Who controls the machine and owns the data | You | You |
The Control You Keep
People arrive at self-hosting AI for good reasons. The documents cannot leave the building. The retainer forbids third-party processing. The IT policy says no new cloud services. Or simply: they want to know, physically, where the thing is. All of those are answered by a machine in your building, on your own network, running the model locally.
What puts them off is the second half of the sentence. Self-hosting means someone has to specify the hardware and be right about it, install the model runtime and the tools around it, wire up access control, import the documents, arrange backups, apply updates and test model upgrades — and then be the person the office rings when it stops. That is a standing job, and in a small firm it lands on whoever last fixed the printer.
Our arrangement keeps the first half and takes the second. The machine is rented to you, not sold, and it sits in your building. The models, documents and chat history live on it, and the only outside connection is your own Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace sign-in. You decide who has access, what is retained and when a model upgrade happens. We do the install, the backups, the updates and the support, under a data processing agreement that covers exactly the access you grant us and nothing more.
If your aim is to self host AI model weights on your own hardware because you have the person to run it, that is a fine plan and we will say so. Our offer is for the firm that wants the control without inheriting the maintenance, or the hardware bill: a self-hosted legal AI platform for a firm’s case files, a clinic’s document library, an accountant’s client papers, run properly by people who do it every week.
What Runs on the Machine in Your Building
Control stays with you. The list of what ships and what does not is the same for every client, because the product is the same.
Private chat
A ChatGPT-style assistant for the team, on your own machine. Questions, uploads, drafts — none of it going to an outside service.
Document spaces
Contracts, files and reports organised into spaces. Search, summarise and compare across hundreds of documents, with citations to the page each answer came from.
Custom assistants
The recurring report, the standard memo, the routine check — built around your workflows and running on the same machine.
| Included | Not included |
|---|---|
| A dedicated machine, sized for your team, rented to you (not sold) and installed by us | A cloud subscription — nothing runs on our servers |
| £500 per month for the software and the hardware rental | Buying the hardware — the machine is rented, not sold |
| Private chat, document spaces and custom assistants on that machine | Clinical, legal or financial advice — it drafts, you decide |
| Single sign-on with your Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace | A replacement for your practice, case or CRM system |
| Import of your existing documents, and training for the people using it | Phone answering — see AI Receptionist |
| Software updates, model upgrades and support from the people who installed it | Inbox automation — see Email Manager |
| Backups and an agreed replacement arrangement, run by us | A cloud fallback — nothing runs on our servers, by design |
Three Steps From Wanting to Self-Host to Having It
Weeks, not months. Start with one team; adding people later is a configuration change.
Decide what you keep
A short call on what you want to control, who would use it and what it will read. We specify the machine from that.
We build it in your building
The machine is installed on your network, your sign-in connected, your documents imported, backups and the replacement plan agreed.
You control it, we run it
We train your team and then handle updates, model upgrades and support. Model changes happen with you, on your schedule.
Where Local AI Is the Wrong Answer
We would rather lose the enquiry than the trust. Three things we tell every prospect before they sign anything.
It is not the answer if you have the person
If you already employ someone who runs servers and would enjoy running this one, self-hosting it yourself is a reasonable choice and the open-weight ecosystem is good. Our arrangement is for the firm that does not.
It is slower than the big cloud models
Open-weight models on a single machine are capable for summarising, drafting and answering questions about your own documents. For frontier reasoning on hard, novel problems, the largest cloud models are still ahead. That is the trade.
It is a weeks-long install, not a sign-up
A cloud agent is live in days. Local AI needs the machine specified, delivered, installed on your network and your documents imported. Weeks, not months — but not tomorrow.
We Self-Host Our Own
Control is real
The machine is rented to you, but it sits on your network, in your building, under your access rules. Nothing about the arrangement makes you dependent on our servers.
Upgrades on your schedule
A new model changes the answers your team relies on, so model upgrades happen with you, not to you.
Backups agreed up front
Schedule and replacement arrangement settled before go-live, as part of support, not as an afterthought.
One DPA, narrowly drawn
We are a processor only for the support access you grant, under UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018, with the ICO as regulator.
Which Page Answers Your Question
| If your question is… | The short answer | Read more |
|---|---|---|
| What exactly is installed? | One machine: chat, spaces, assistants, support | On-premises AI solution |
| Is this what people mean by private AI? | Yes — private by construction | Private AI |
| Which model would we host? | An open-weight local LLM, matched to the job | Local LLM |
| What does it change for UK GDPR? | No processor, no transfer, for the AI step | GDPR compliant AI |
| We are a law firm | Case files stay in the office | Local AI for solicitors |
| We are in Manchester | Installed on site across Greater Manchester | Local AI Manchester |
| Why on-premises at all? | The case for Local AI, in full | Local AI product page |
Self-Hosted AI by City and Sector
Self-Hosting AI: Common Questions
What is self hosted AI?
AI models running on hardware you control, in a building you control, rather than on a provider’s servers. Your prompts, documents and chat history stay on that machine. With ours the machine is rented to you and we handle the install, updates and support.
Do we own the hardware?
No. The machine is rented to your business as part of the £500 a month, which covers the software and the hardware rental; there is no hardware to buy. It sits on your network in your building, and the documents, chat history and data on it are yours.
What does self-hosting AI involve if we do it ourselves?
Choosing and buying hardware, installing the model runtime and the tools around it, connecting access control, importing documents, arranging backups, applying updates, testing model upgrades, and being the person everyone rings when it stops. It is a standing IT job, not a weekend project.
Can we self host AI model updates on our own schedule?
Yes. Model upgrades are part of support, and we make them with you rather than to you — a new model changes the answers your team has learned to expect, so the timing is your call.
Is a self-hosted legal AI platform realistic for a small firm?
Yes, if someone else runs it. Case files and correspondence go into document spaces on a machine in your office, searchable with citations, without the firm employing anyone to maintain a server. We size it for the team and start with one practice area.
What happens if the machine fails?
Your documents and spaces are backed up, and a replacement machine is restored from those backups. The backup schedule and the replacement arrangement are agreed with you before go-live.
Control It Without Running It
Tell us what made you want to self-host and who would maintain it today. We will say which of the jobs you should keep and which we should take.
Prefer email? sghaith@businessaiagents.co.uk