£1,000 to £5,000
The grant is between £1,000 and £5,000 per project. If it is approved, it can cover the full cost of an eligible project up to £5,000; anything above £5,000 is paid by the business.
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South of Scotland AI Adoption Grant · Scottish Borders and Dumfries & Galloway
AI for your business, with the SOSE AI Adoption Grant
If your business is in the Scottish Borders or Dumfries & Galloway, you can apply to South of Scotland Enterprise (SOSE) for an AI Adoption Grant of £1,000 to £5,000. If your application is approved, the grant can cover the full cost of an eligible AI project up to £5,000. I help you choose the right job for AI, give you an itemised quote to attach, and help you fill in the project sections of the application. There is no charge for the chat or for the help with the application.
Grant details checked on the SOSE AI Adoption Grant page on 12 November 2026. The grant is run and decided by SOSE, not by me.
The grant in plain words
What the grant is, and what it is not
SOSE's AI Adoption Grant helps South of Scotland businesses start using AI to work better. SOSE is taking expressions of interest again: when I checked their page on 12 November 2026, the enquiry form was open. Funds are limited and handled first come, first served, so it is worth getting in early.
Spent by 31 January 2027
All the work and every invoice have to be finished by 31 January 2027. Nothing can be bought before SOSE sends you a Grant Offer Letter, so the sooner you apply, the more time there is to build it properly.
Limited, and not guaranteed
Funds are limited and applications are handled in the order they arrive. Every decision is SOSE's, at their discretion. Nobody can promise you a grant, and I will not either.
Check before you spend an hour on it
Can your business apply?
These are SOSE's main conditions, from their September 2026 criteria. If you can say yes to each one, it is worth a chat.
- Your business is based and trading in the Scottish Borders or Dumfries & Galloway.
- You are an established small or medium-sized business, a sole trader registered with HMRC (you will need your UTR), a community organisation or a social enterprise.
- If you employ staff, you pay everyone aged 16 and over at least the Real Living Wage, including apprentices, and you can show a Fair Work approach.
- The business is not in financial difficulty, and it is not in gambling or adult entertainment.
- The project has not started yet. Work and payments begin only after the Grant Offer Letter.
- It is your business's only application. Where the same people run several businesses, only one can apply.
SOSE also excludes capital spending, including buying or improving intangible assets that would go on your balance sheet. My work is set-up, configuration, integration and training on accounts in your business's name, and I describe it exactly that way in the quote. Ask your accountant how they would record it, and SOSE has the final word on what is eligible.
Same published prices, grant or no grant
Example AI projects for a grant application
Each project is built from the services and Founding Client Rates on my AI integration price list. The price is the same whether or not you use a grant, and I take no commission from it. No VAT is added: the studio is not VAT-registered.
Getting started
Three everyday jobs handed to AI, for a business taking its first step.
£1,295 project total
- Future-ready Pack: AI Kick-off Session and written plan
- AI Sales Report by email
- AI Enquiry Assistant
- First three months of AI Care included
For businesses with staff
The whole team
The starter jobs, plus your team trained and answers to staff questions on tap.
£2,830 project total
- Future-ready Pack (£1,295)
- AI Staff Training for up to 8 people (£395)
- AI Policy & Safe-Use Pack (£345)
- AI Staff Knowledge Assistant (£795)
Full AI set-up
Sales, enquiries, invoices, reviews and staff answers, for a busier business.
£4,710 project total
- AI Kick-off Session and AI Sales Assistant on WhatsApp
- AI Enquiry Assistant and AI Invoice Reader
- AI Review & Post Drafts
- AI Staff Training, AI Policy & Safe-Use Pack and AI Staff Knowledge Assistant
- AI Care at £45 a month can be added until 31 January 2027
Something else in mind? A Custom AI Agent starts at £1,195, and I can put together any mix of services between £1,000 and £5,000. The quote lists every item and price separately, which is what SOSE asks for.
From first chat to the grant payment
How I help with your application
- A grant chat, at no charge. Thirty minutes by phone, video or in person in Kelso. We check the conditions above and pick the job in your week most worth handing to AI.
- An itemised quote and a project description. I write a dated quote with each service, price and running cost listed separately, and a plain-English description of the project: what it does, why your business needs it and what it should change.
- Help with the application form. You register your interest with SOSE and the application is yours. I sit down with you, in person or on a call, and help you fill in the sections about the project, the costs and the timeline. You check every answer and sign it, and everything in it has to be true.
- SOSE decides. Nothing is bought and nothing is invoiced before the Grant Offer Letter. If the grant is not approved, you owe me nothing.
- Build, test and train. After the offer letter I build the project on accounts in your business's name, test it with you on your real data and train your team. Every invoice is dated after the offer letter.
- Claim the grant. SOSE pays the grant after the work, against invoices and evidence. You pay my invoice first and then claim it back, so plan for that in your cash flow. I give you the invoices and a short evidence pack showing what was delivered, ready for your claim, well before 31 January 2027.
Straight dealing
What I will and will not do
I am a local AI and web studio in Kelso. I am not part of SOSE, and I am not an approved or endorsed SOSE supplier. I will not apply on your behalf, I will not promise you a grant, and I will not dress a project up to make it look eligible. The quote describes exactly what I will do.
The prices are the published ones, the same with or without a grant, and I take no fee or commission from the grant. If the grant does not come through, you are free to walk away, or to go ahead at the same price.
Every AI service I build follows the same rules as on my AI integration page: read-only access unless agreed in writing, AI providers whose business terms exclude training on your data, accounts in your name and an off switch for every agent.
Straight answers
Questions about the AI Adoption Grant
Does the grant really cover the whole cost?
If SOSE approves your application, the grant can cover the full cost of an eligible project up to £5,000. Anything above £5,000 is paid by your business. It is paid after the work, against invoices and evidence, so you pay the invoice first and then claim it.
Is the help with the application really at no charge?
Yes. The grant chat, the itemised quote, the project description and the help with filling in the form cost nothing, and you are under no obligation to go ahead.
Can you apply for the grant for me?
No. The application has to come from your business, and SOSE does not fund projects where someone else is the beneficiary. I help you describe the project and fill in the form; you check it, sign it and send it.
When can I apply?
Now. When I checked on 12 November 2026, the expression of interest form on the SOSE AI Adoption Grant page was open. Funds are limited and handled first come, first served, and SOSE pauses new expressions of interest when it expects the fund to be used up, so the sooner the better.
How do I apply, step by step?
First you send SOSE a short expression of interest through the form on their AI Adoption Grant page, with a brief outline of the project and how it uses AI in your business. If it meets the criteria and funds are still available, SOSE sends you the full application form. If an application is unsuccessful, SOSE says it will call you to talk it through. I can help you write the outline and the project sections, but the application is yours.
Can I start before the grant is approved?
No. The project must not have started, and anything bought or invoiced before the Grant Offer Letter cannot be claimed. That is why I charge nothing before the letter, not even the kick-off session.
Who can apply?
Established small and medium-sized businesses, sole traders registered with HMRC, community organisations and social enterprises based and trading in the Scottish Borders or Dumfries & Galloway. If you employ staff, you must pay the Real Living Wage and show a Fair Work approach. Gambling and adult entertainment businesses cannot apply.
Can the monthly AI Care be included?
SOSE has told me a monthly support subscription up to 31 January 2027 can be part of a project, so AI Care for those months can go in the quote; SOSE confirms it for each application. From February 2027 it is paid by your business, and you can cancel it at any time.
What happens if my application is turned down?
You owe me nothing. You can go ahead with the same project at the same published price, start with something smaller, or leave it.
Find out if the grant fits your business
Tell me what your business does and which job eats your week. I will tell you honestly whether AI can do it well, whether it looks like a fit for the grant, and what the project would cost.