As artificial intelligence becomes more prevalent, it can become overwhelming to figure out how it should be used in the workplace or to advance business strategies.
To better understand how AI is being leveraged in Ottawa, we asked this year’s Fastest Growing Companies about their AI strategies.
From faster problem-solving to driving growth, here’s a glimpse into how the top 10 recipients are incorporating AI into their businesses.
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Prestige Home Improvement
Prestige is a fast-scaling HVAC company revolutionizing home energy efficiency through turnkey heat pump solutions, rebate navigation and technology-driven operations across Canada.
“AI has become an integral part of our daily operations by helping us process information, identify inefficiencies and create structured solutions. It assists in drafting documents, building systems and standardizing communication across departments. It also allows us to solve problems faster and scale more efficiently while maintaining clarity and consistency throughout the organization.”
Meerkat Marketing
Meerkat Marketing is a local B2B and B2C boutique marketing agency in Ottawa with deep specializations in branding, strategy and digital marketing.
“AI has been a game-changer for the marketing industry and it’s become a central part of our strategy. The biggest shift we’re seeing right now is in generative engine optimization (GEO), which is helping companies increase their visibility within AI-driven search results. As audiences turn to AI platforms for information and recommendations, brands must adapt to remain discoverable and relevant.
“Recognizing this early, we developed a dedicated GEO service to help clients optimize for AI search visibility. This forward-thinking approach has already delivered strong results for early adopters, positioning both our clients and our agency at the forefront of the next evolution in digital marketing.”
Corfix
Corfix is a mobile app that construction companies use to manage job-site compliance.
“We are hyper-focused on AI in-house first to improve efficiencies and trying to prioritize it as it relates to customer-facing impact.”
App8
App8 helps foodservice brands take more orders and move them faster by making the entire process digital, from guest ordering to kitchen prep and fulfillment.
“AI is central to both how we operate internally and how we shape our product strategy. Internally, we encourage secure AI adoption across our team to improve output, quality and creativity. This builds a culture of AI-diverse thinkers who are equipped to lead and grow in an AI-driven world both at App8 and any future endeavours. Externally, AI defines our product strategy by guiding where and how we build value.
“Our roadmap includes capacity-aware ordering that predicts peak demand and balances kitchen load, personalized recommendations that increase order value, automation-ready integrations such as voice and kiosks, and real-time market insights that help operators act faster and smarter. Our approach is to make sure that AI is not a vanity layer, but a core driver of practical results for both operators and guests.”
Trellis Corp.
Trellis is an AI-driven, profit-optimization platform for Amazon and Walmart sellers, combining advertising automation, dynamic pricing, promotions and marketplace insights to scale revenue.
“AI has been central to our strategy from the start — it powers how Trellis helps brands grow more intelligently and efficiently. We’ve integrated machine learning, large language models (LLMs) and agentic systems across our platform to automate decisions around pricing, advertising, promotions and content optimization.
“Today, we’re evolving toward agentic commerce, where intelligent agents act autonomously to drive profit and growth across marketplaces. This shift allows us to move beyond insights and automation into true decision-making intelligence, positioning Trellis at the forefront of AI-driven transformation in commerce.”
Blue Collar Marketing
Blue Collar Marketing is a digital marketing agency for contractors. We help blue-collar businesses get more customers by providing effective and straightforward marketing solutions.
“AI is a core part of our lean-forward operations. We use it to power efficiency across the board, from optimizing schedules and research to better client outreach. We also custom-build tools that let us offer superior systems, keeping our team hyper-efficient and operations lean.”
Evolta Electric
Evolta is a sustainability-focused electrical contractor specializing in EV charging, battery storage, LED lighting and building automation.
“We have engaged with AI in developing tools to streamline our processes and to analyze data to provide our customers with helpful information when decision-making.”
Soutar Capital & Consulting
Soutar provides strategic fractional CFO services for founders looking to take control of their finances, optimize cash flow and make informed decisions with confidence.
“We use AI as a force multiplier that augments expert judgment. It accelerates research and synthesis, sharpens forecasting and prioritization and supports outreach. We apply clear guardrails, keep sensitive data private and require a human in the loop for decisions and measured outcomes. This raises leverage per teammate without compromising trust.”
Hobbiesville
Hobbiesville is a Canadian hobby shop offering trading cards, games and collectibles from top brands.
“AI plays a key role in our strategy by enhancing our strategic planning, customer experience through personalization, and supporting data-driven marketing. It helps us scale efficiently while improving decision-making across operations.”
Autocorp.ai
Autocorp.ai’s AVA platform helps dealerships sell more with Equifax-powered pre-qualification, ID verification, predictive credit scoring and real-time trade-in valuations.
“AI underpins how we decide, not just how we demo. We use it to improve the signal-to-noise ratio in customer workflows, surface the next best action for teams, and reduce manual review where it doesn’t add value.”
