How to choose an AI consulting partner for your business

Ask the consultant to understand the work

You can assess an AI consultant without knowing which model or software framework they use. Ask them to explain what they would change in your business, how they would test it and what your team would need to do. You should be able to follow the answer.

Start with a recurring problem: delayed quotes, duplicate entry or staff searching for information. Bring someone who handles that work. A useful consultant will ask about the exceptions, the people involved and the tools you have before proposing a solution.

Ask them to compare changing the process, configuring an existing product and building something custom. AI may help with part of the work. A clearer approval step might solve the problem without it.

Find out what the demonstration proves

A consultant can use a prototype to explain an idea or demonstrate technical ability. Ask whether a customer uses it in daily operations, whether they tested it with sample data and which parts still need development. Those are different stages of work.

During a demonstration, ask the consultant to open the source behind an answer and work through an incomplete request. Watch how a person corrects the output. For an AI agent, ask who approves a customer commitment or a change to a business record.

Treat a savings claim as something to examine: ask for the baseline, measurement period and work the customer still performs. You can review our selected work and its stated limitations with the same questions.

Write down how you will accept the work

Before you approve a project, agree on the first release, its exclusions and the tests your team will use to accept it. Name who supplies system access and who makes decisions when the team discovers an exception.

Ask how the consultant handles a failed test, a new request or a dependency they cannot access. Our approach starts with an agreed first move and a way to measure the change.

Compare the cost after launch, too

Compare proposals over the same period and expected usage. Include the implementation fee, software licences, hosting, model or API charges, maintenance and the time your staff will spend checking outputs or managing exceptions.

Ask each provider to separate fixed charges from usage estimates and explain the assumptions. A low build price gives you an incomplete comparison if you need substantial manual review to keep the system useful. Agree on who monitors spending and what happens as usage grows.

Decide what your team will own and maintain

Get a written answer about source code, business records, administrator accounts and third-party licences. Ask which services will receive your information, who can access it and how you can export or delete it. Keep confidential customer material out of an initial demonstration until you agree on the handling arrangements.

Handover should cover the way people will operate the system: access instructions, training, known limitations and recovery steps. Ask who handles a broken integration after launch, what support includes and how another provider could take over. Set response expectations in the agreement rather than assuming the project fee buys indefinite support.

Review our answers about project scope and delivery before a conversation with us.

Take these five questions into the first call

Use the same brief with each provider. Add one example of the work you want to improve, then record their answers beside these questions.

1. Can you explain the first problem you would investigate, and the information you need from us?
2. Can you compare a process change, an existing product and a custom build for this problem?
3. Can you distinguish what you have demonstrated from what you have deployed and measured?
4. Can you set out the first release, acceptance tests, our responsibilities and the full cost assumptions?
5. Can you document data access, ownership, handover and support, including how we could change providers?