The short answer
An AI consultant helps a business find where AI saves real time, sets it up and trains the staff to use it. For a small business, a good one starts with a short fixed-price review of how you work, then gives clear recommendations and a price for each next step. Be careful with anyone who promises big savings before they've seen your work.
I'm an AI consultant myself, so read this with that in mind. I've tried to write what I'd tell a friend.
What an AI consultant actually does
The title covers very different people. For a small business, the useful work usually falls into four parts:
- Finding the right tasks. Looking at how your week actually goes and spotting the work that's repetitive, text-heavy and easy to check. That's where AI pays off first.
- Choosing tools. ChatGPT or Claude, Microsoft or Google, and whether you need anything beyond a subscription at all. Often you don't.
- Setting it up. Projects with your documents, instructions in your tone, and sometimes links between your email, forms and AI.
- Training and follow-up. Showing your team how to use it, and checking a few weeks later that they still do.
Large consultancies also do strategy, data platforms and AI governance for big organisations. A ten-person business rarely needs that.
What it costs
Prices vary a lot, so here are the common models rather than one number:
| Model | What you get | Typical range |
|---|---|---|
| Short review or audit | A few hours of looking at your work, with written recommendations | A fixed price, often EUR 300-1 500 |
| Fixed-price project | One workflow set up and working | Often EUR 2 000-10 000, depending on size |
| Monthly support | Ongoing help, new workflows, fixes | Often EUR 500-2 000 a month |
| Hourly | Time spent, whatever it turns into | Often EUR 80-200 an hour |
Ranges are excl. VAT and based on what I see small businesses being offered in Northern Europe in 2026. For comparison, my own prices are public: the audit is €450, projects start from €2 900, and monthly help from €750, all excl. VAT.
My advice: prefer fixed prices. With hourly pricing, you carry all the risk of things taking longer.
Six questions to ask before you hire
- "What have you built yourself?" Ask to see real examples, not slides. Someone who uses AI daily in their own work will show you.
- "What will I have when you leave?" A good answer names concrete things: a working setup, written instructions, trained staff.
- "Whose accounts does it run on?" Ideally yours. Then you're not locked in if you stop working together.
- "What does it cost to run afterwards?" Subscriptions and AI usage, per month.
- "What happens with our data?" They should talk about business plans, data processing agreements and keeping personal data out.
- "What would you not use AI for here?" An honest consultant will name things.
Warning signs
- Guaranteed savings ("save 20 hours a week") before they've seen how you work.
- Their own platform you must subscribe to, with your data inside it and no easy way out.
- Lots of jargon and no plain answer to "what will change on Monday?"
- A big project first. Small businesses should start with one workflow, prove it, then grow.
Do you need a consultant at all?
Not always. If you have one or two simple needs, like better email drafts or meeting notes, the guides on this site and a business plan from ChatGPT or Claude can take you far. Start with Where to start with AI.
A consultant is worth it when you don't know where to start, when the team has tried AI but nothing stuck, or when the value is in connecting systems, like your inbox, forms and customer list, rather than in chatting with AI.
Questions people ask
What does an AI consultant do?
They find the tasks in your business where AI saves time, choose and set up the tools, and train your team. For small businesses, the focus is practical: email, documents, quotes, admin and customer questions.
How much does an AI consultant cost for a small business?
Commonly a fixed EUR 300-1 500 for an initial review, a few thousand euros for a first project, and EUR 500-2 000 a month for ongoing help, excl. VAT. Fixed prices are safer for the buyer than hourly rates.
What is an AI audit?
A short, fixed-price review of how your business works, ending in written recommendations for where AI fits, what it would cost and what to do first. Mine takes 90 minutes, and the price is credited if you go on to a project.
Where to start
Write down the three tasks that eat most of your team's week. Whether you hire me, someone else or nobody, that list is the best starting point there is.
Want help with this?
This is what I do for small businesses. See The AI workflow audit, or start with the 90-minute audit.