1
Review gates on everything
Every change AI touches is reviewed by a senior developer before it merges. Not skimmed. Read.
AI-first development
Software built with AI, by people who can tell when it's wrong.
We build web applications and websites with AI in the loop from the first commit to the last. The output is faster and cheaper than the old way. The quality is the same, because a senior developer signs off every line.
What it means
AI-first is a way of working, not a feature on the invoice
Every developer at Ikigai builds with AI in the loop, from the first commit to the last. Not because it's fashionable, but because a senior developer with good tooling ships a lot more than a senior developer without it, and we would rather pass that on than pocket it.
The part most agencies leave out is the judgement. AI is confident when it's wrong. It will invent an API, skip the edge case, and write a test that passes because it tests nothing. Knowing where that happens, and building a process that catches it every time, is the actual skill. That is what you are paying for.
So the rule is simple: AI drafts, a senior developer decides. Nothing ships without a human who understands it putting their name to it.
How we keep it honest
Six rules that don't bend
Written down, followed on every project, and the reason our output looks like a senior wrote it. Because one did.
2
Tests first, then code
We write the test before the prompt. If the AI can't make it pass honestly, the code doesn't go in.
3
Flat tooling cost, included
Our developers work on a fixed subscription per person. It is in your plan, it never appears as a metered line, and it never surprises anyone.
4
AI features built to be cheap to run
When your product uses a model, we decide what genuinely needs a call, what to work out once and store, and what to cache. Most of the saving lives here.
5
Humans own the architecture
AI is very good at filling in a well-drawn shape. Drawing the shape stays with people who'll maintain it.
6
Your code stays yours
Client code is never used to train anything, and we'll tell you exactly which providers processed it.
Cost discipline
Keeping the model bill boring is part of the craft
There are two AI bills and people mix them up. The first is the tooling our developers use to build. That is a flat subscription we pay per developer, it is included in your plan, and it is never a metered line on your invoice.
The second is the one that actually gets out of hand: the AI inside the product we build for you. It is easy to make a feature call a model on every request when it could have worked the answer out once and stored it. We design for that from the start. What genuinely needs a model call, what can be computed once and kept, what can be cached and reused, and which model each job actually needs. That is where the saving is, and it is the bit we have done enough times to have opinions about.
- Developer tooling is a flat cost, included in your plan
- AI features designed to store and reuse, not re-query
- The cheapest model that can honestly do each job
- No runaway agents, ever
two bills, one of them boring
Good questions
What people ask about AI-first work
The answers your CTO will want before your CFO does.
Ready when you are
Want your next build done AI-first, and done properly?
Also from Ikigai
Other ways we can help
Embedded developers
Staff augmentation with senior developers: in your team within weeks, on a monthly plan with a named handler, weekly worklogs and invoices that explain themselves.
Laravel development
Laravel applications, Filament admin, APIs, migrations and Laravel developers for hire, from a UK agency that built its own CMS in Laravel.
Bespoke software development
Bespoke software for UK businesses: portals, operations systems, billing and integrations, built in Laravel and Nuxt at a fixed price you own outright.
Web application development
Custom web applications: customer portals, dashboards, SaaS and internal tools built in Laravel and Nuxt, with Stripe, integrations and AI features done properly.