Canada has some of the best-known AI researchers in the world, and if you search for Canadian AI experts that's mostly who you'll find. They shaped the technology. But a business owner in Calgary, Ottawa or Halifax usually needs something more down to earth: an expert who'll get AI saving time in the business, safely, this quarter.

That's my lane. I've spent 23 years in marketing, I built, scaled and sold a digital marketing agency, and since 2024 I've rebuilt my consultancy around AI implementation for non-technical founders and marketing leaders. I'm independent and I work with clients in Canada as well as the UK, US and Australia.

Researcher, adviser or implementer?

It helps to know which expert you're looking for before you start calling people.

• Researchers advance the science. Brilliant, and rarely the people to fix your sales follow-up.
• Enterprise advisers help large organisations plan transformation programmes.
• Implementers build AI into a business's everyday tasks and train the people who use it. That's what I do, for small and mid-sized businesses.

Canada's privacy principles for generative AI

The Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada issued principles for responsible, trustworthy and privacy-protective generative AI on December 7, 2023, jointly with provincial and territorial privacy commissioners and ombudsmen. There are nine of them, from legal authority and consent through to accuracy and safeguards.

The one I quote to every Canadian client sits under appropriate purposes: only use generative AI tools that respect privacy laws and best practices. In practice that means choosing approved tools and accounts before anyone starts, keeping personal information out of prompts unless the tool and contract allow it, and checking outputs for accuracy before they reach a customer.

Where I start with a Canadian business

The first conversation is about your week, not about AI.

1. We find the tasks that take the most time and repeat most often.
2. We choose the tools, checked against the privacy principles above.
3. We build AI into two or three tasks and test them on real work.
4. I train the people who'll use the workflows, on their own material.
5. We write the rules down, and I follow up to see what stuck.

What I bring to it

I've worked with brands including Twitter, Dropbox, IBM, monday.com, Greenpeace and Hootsuite. I've been named a Forbes Top 20 Social Media Power Influencer and Oracle's Social Influencer of Europe, and I've spoken at more than 100 events internationally. More usefully for you, I've built my own AI infrastructure without engineers: publishing automation, SEO recovery tooling, schema checks and AI citation tracking.

If you want detail on how I work with businesses across the country, my AI consulting for Canadian businesses page covers it, and if you're booking for an event, see my AI keynote speaker page for Canada.

What changes after the first month

The test I use is plain: is someone in your business doing a specific task differently a month on? For most Canadian clients that means replies that take minutes instead of an hour, reports that start from a draft instead of a blank page, and content that turns one idea into several pieces. When a workflow doesn't stick, I want to know why. Usually the task was the wrong one, or the rules weren't clear, and both are quick to fix.

When you don't need an AI expert

If one person in your business wants to get better at ChatGPT, you probably don't need me. A good course and some practice will do. You need outside help when several people should be using AI the same way, when customer data is involved, or when you've tried and it hasn't stuck. That's where an implementer earns their keep.

Questions to ask any AI expert in Canada

These questions sort people who've done the work from people who've changed their job title.

• What have you built with AI in your own business?
• How do you handle Canadian privacy principles in the workflows you build?
• Which tasks would you start with in my business, and why?
• What will my team be able to do without you afterwards?

My plain advice if you're looking for an AI expert in Canada

Decide what you want to be different in your business in three months, then hire the expert whose work matches it. For most small and mid-sized businesses that's an implementer, not a researcher. Pick approved tools first, keep personal information out of prompts, and start with one workflow you can measure. You'll find how to work with me on my work with me page.

Frequently asked questions

Who is a practical AI expert for small businesses in Canada?

Lilach Bullock is a British AI expert and AI implementation consultant who works with Canadian business owners and marketing teams over video, building AI workflows, training teams and improving AI search visibility.

What are Canada's privacy principles for generative AI?

The Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada published nine principles on December 7, 2023, including appropriate purposes, accountability, accuracy and safeguards.

Do you work with businesses across Canada?

Yes. All my work runs over video and in English, so location within Canada doesn't matter.

Are you a Canadian AI researcher?

No. I'm a British, practical AI expert for businesses: implementation, training and AI visibility. For research or model building, you need a different specialist.

What does working with you involve?

We start with the tasks that eat your week, build AI into a few of them, train your team on their own work, write the rules down and follow up.

Which AI tools do you work with?

I'm independent and work with whichever assistants suit the business: ChatGPT, Claude, Microsoft Copilot or Gemini, plus the automation tools that connect them. Part of the work is deciding which tool owns which job, and checking each one against the privacy principles before anyone uses it on customer information.