AI and expertise: a half-day solution to a $3,000 annual issue

At Whitesmith, we’ve been exploring how AI tools enhance rather than replace our technical expertise. A recent client project perfectly illustrates this synergy.

The challenge

Syncing data between different online services can get expensive quickly. For one client, the usual off-the-shelf solutions would have cost them thousands of dollars each year. Our client needed to sync data between two Postgres databases and commercial ETL solutions started at $250/month.

How AI changed the game

What’s interesting isn’t just what we built, but how the expert+AI partnership transformed our approach:

• Expert identified the real problem: We recognized that pre-built ETL solutions were overpriced for this specific use case
• Expert set the strategy: Together with the client we established a high-level plan for what a successful sync would look like
• AI explored solution spaces: Grok quickly evaluated implementation and hosting options across multiple platforms
• Expert spotted the hidden opportunity: When Grok briefly mentioned GitHub Actions in its thinking process before moving on, we recognized its potential
• AI accelerated implementation: Grok generated an initial GitHub Actions workflow
• Expert+AI refined the solution: We used GPT-4.1 to improve the implementation
• Expert tackled technical obstacles: When we hit credential issues with IPv4, our knowledge filled the gap

The Results: Value Creation Through Partnership

This AI+Expert partnership delivered remarkable efficiency:

• Solution created in half a day
• Runs within GitHub Actions’ free tier
• Zero manual coding needed
• Saves approximately $3,000 annually
• Client feedback: Everything is working. Great job”

The bigger picture

This case demonstrates how technical experts aren’t being replaced by AI - they’re being elevated. The AI handled time-consuming tasks like generating initial implementations and exploring options, while our expertise guided the process, spotted opportunities, and solved the challenging problems that AI couldn’t handle alone.

As our team member put it: “AI lets me focus on the higher-level problem → solution mapping, with instant validation and real-time iterations to deliver value.”

In technical work, the future belongs not to AI alone, nor to experts working without it, but to those who can effectively combine human expertise with AI capabilities.