About
Practical systems, built around the people who use them.
13 Canons helps growing businesses turn slow, manual work into simpler systems that respond faster and are easier to run.
13 Canons is based in Greater Seattle, Washington, and delivers work remotely.
You work directly with 13 Canons from the first workflow review through launch, testing, and handoff. There is no account-manager layer and no subcontracted team.
The goal is practical: solve one valuable problem, make it usable, and leave your team in control.
FAQ
Common questions
What business owners usually want to know.
What does 13 Canons build?
Practical AI systems for growing businesses, including AI front desk and lead follow-up, workflow automation, implementation roadmaps, websites with connected inquiry handling, SEO and AI search visibility (GEO/AEO/AIO), and measurement systems.
What are SEO, GEO, AEO, and AIO?
SEO improves visibility in traditional search. GEO (generative engine optimization), AEO (answer engine optimization), and AIO (AI optimization) extend that work into AI-assisted search and answer experiences by making accurate, useful business information easier to crawl, understand, retrieve, and cite. We treat them as one connected visibility discipline, not separate hacks.
Who does 13 Canons work with?
Growing businesses in Greater Seattle, Washington, and beyond. Work is delivered remotely and scoped around the workflow, tools, and operating needs of each business.
How do we get started?
Book a free 30-minute fit call to talk it through, or take the self-guided AI Opportunity Fit Check first. Either way, we identify the most useful next step before proposing a larger build.
What does it cost to get started?
AI Front Desk & Follow-Up: Starting at $999 setup · Managed support from $199/month. Software, phone/SMS, and AI usage billed separately. Local Search & AI Visibility: Starting at $1,500 one-time · Optional optimization from $499/month per location. Websites & Connected Marketing: Starting at $3,500 one-time · Optional website care from $299/month. Ongoing marketing management is scoped separately. We confirm the scope and total cost before work begins.
How is maintenance handled?
For AI Front Desk & Follow-Up, ongoing support is managed support from $199/month: basic monitoring and exception review, one small configuration update per month, and a short monthly activity summary. Visibility and website clients can add an optional monthly plan: optimization from $499/month per location, or website care from $299/month. Software, phone/SMS, AI usage, hosting, and other third-party costs are separate, and we identify them before work begins.
Will I have to replace my current tools?
Not automatically. We review what you already use and determine what should stay, connect, or change based on the workflow.
What happens after launch?
Every engagement includes testing, clear ownership, and handoff documentation. Ongoing support follows the published plan for your offer, and we confirm it in your written scope before work begins.
What the name means
The 13 Canons are practical operating principles for building useful technology. They are not religious, legal, military, or universal doctrine. They are the defaults this studio uses to make scope, safety, ownership, measurement, and handoff explicit.
- 01
Start with the business problem.
Technology is a means. Define the decision, delay, cost, or friction before choosing a tool.
- 02
Ship the smallest useful system.
Scope the first release to create real value and real learning, then expand from evidence.
- 03
Keep humans in control.
Automations should expose important decisions, allow review, and provide clear ways to intervene.
In practice: a person reviews pricing, exceptions, and anything outside the approved answers before it reaches a customer.
- 04
Design for auditability.
Important inputs, outputs, approvals, and changes should leave a trace people can inspect.
- 05
Prefer evidence to hype.
Use observed behavior, measured outcomes, and explicit assumptions instead of fashionable claims.
- 06
Make ownership explicit.
Every workflow needs a person responsible for decisions, maintenance, and exceptions.
In practice: before work begins, every recurring software, phone, or messaging cost is listed along with who owns it.
- 07
Automate repetition, not judgment.
Let software handle predictable work while people retain context-heavy choices.
- 08
Build for handoff.
A system is not finished if only its builder can run it.
In practice: each project ends with written operating notes and a walkthrough for the people who will run it.
- 09
Measure outcomes.
Track whether work became faster, clearer, safer, or more valuable, not just whether features shipped.
- 10
Protect data by default.
Collect less, limit access, keep secrets out of code, and plan for failure.
- 11
Optimize for clarity.
Names, interfaces, states, and documents should make the next action obvious.
- 12
Make it fast and accessible.
Performance and accessibility are product quality, not cleanup work.
- 13
Leave the system better documented.
Capture decisions, dependencies, setup, and operating guidance while the work is fresh.
Work directly with 13 Canons
Every engagement is scoped and delivered by 13 Canons directly, from start to finish.