Do you need an AI consultant, or just a ChatGPT subscription?
If what you want is help writing emails, summarising documents or drafting posts, you don't need a consultant. A ChatGPT, Claude or Copilot subscription and an afternoon of trying things will get you most of the way.
A consultant is worth it when the time goes on work that moves between systems: enquiries that have to be read, priced, booked and chased; calls that need answering while you're busy; information retyped from one app to another. That's where a chat subscription stops helping and something has to be connected to your business.
What does an AI consultant cost in the UK?
Day rates vary widely. One UK guide puts independent AI consultants at roughly £400 to £900 a day, with agencies nearer £1,200 a day once project management is added (Lilach Bullock, reviewed May 2026). Many start with a paid audit or a free first call and then quote for a fixed project.
What decides the cost is less the rate than the shape of the work: a one-off audit and a written plan, a fixed project that builds something, or an ongoing retainer. Our build prices are published on the pricing page. Our first look is free, and anything after that is a fixed price agreed before it starts.
AI consultant, automation agency or engineering firm: what's the difference?
| AI consultant | Automation agency | AI engineering firm | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What you get | Advice and a plan | Automations built in tools like Zapier or n8n | Advice, then systems built and run |
| Builds it | Usually not | Yes | Yes |
| Custom software | No | Rarely | Yes, when nothing off the shelf fits |
| Stays after launch | Sometimes | On a retainer | On a retainer you can stop |
Labels overlap and plenty of firms do more than one. Ask what they built last, not what they call themselves.
What should come out of the first meeting?
- A short list of where your time and enquiries actually go, in your words.
- Which of those your current software can already handle, if it's switched on.
- One or two things worth building, with what each would take and what it depends on.
- At least one thing they'd tell you not to automate.
Red flags when hiring an AI consultant
Everything needs AI
Some of your problems are solved by a setting in software you already pay for. A consultant who never says so is selling, not advising.
No one owns what's built
Accounts, code and data should be in your business's name. Ask before you start, not when you want to leave.
Results you can't check
Percentages and case studies with no named business and no way to verify them. Ask to see something running.
A plan and nothing else
A report is only useful if someone can build what it recommends. Ask who does that, and what it costs.
AI consultancy by industry
The useful advice is specific to how your industry works and the software it runs on. We cover construction and trades in detail, and more industries on their own pages.