What Does an AI Consultant Do?

What Does an AI Consultant Do?

An AI consultant helps to use artificial intelligence to optimize workflows or unlock new use cases . Two scenarios to hire an AI consultant are

  1. AI strategy and
  2. predicitve modeling.


1. AI Strategy

Though buzzy, artificial intelligence might not be the best technology for every company. An AI consultant can evaluate whether your business meets foundational criteria for employing AI (there is enough data to build models upon, data is properly stored in unified warehouses). If you are evaluating AI, an AI consultant can guide you through initial projects. It's key to establish success in the first few projects before investing into larger ones with more complexity.


2. Predictive Modelling

qWhat's the best learning model for your data set? An AI consultant will know which algorithms are best prescribed to your use case (e.g. Naive Bayes algorithm for smaller training sets).

Whether you are looking for AI strategy or design predictive models, you should consider three options to accomplish your goal:

  1. Develop a solution in-house
  2. Buy a product off-the-shelf
  3. Engage a consultant


Which Specific Projects Can an AI Consultant Take On?
AI consultants can take on projects that include:


How Should You Evaluate AI Consulting Firms?

When evaluating an AI CONSULTANT, you should follow these 5 steps:


Step 1: Define your AI goals

When you consider hiring a consultant or a full-time employee, it's important to understand:

  1. The value they can create
  2. The amount it will cost


AI consultants can drive value from either:

  1. Data analytics - Better decision-making
  2. Process automation - Replacing manual business processes with technology
  3. Product development - Generating revenue from client adoption

Start by outlining the specific projects you believe will create the most value and then identify any vertical-specific requirements (healthcare, e-commerce, marketing, etc.) that need to be taken into account.

Once you have defined how an AI consultant can create value, you then need to understand the cost to make such an investment.

For instance, if you were hiring a full-time employee, the cost is mostly the result of salary range and benefits. When considering a consultant, you need to understand the project costs, hourly costs, or retainer pricing model that will be required.


Step 2: Outline a project description or job description

Once you understand the path to value creation and the necessary level of investment to make progress against your goals, you need a clear description of the role and responsibilities.

This is where a project description will come in handy.

In the project description, you should outline the project title, pay range, and business requirements. You should also consider including:

  • Communication skills required
  • Years of experience with AI
  • Remote vs. onsite work expectations
  • Relevant expertise in project management methodologies (agile, waterfall)
  • Knowledge of your specific technology stack and tooling (Salesforce, Zendesk, NetSuite, IBM, Oracle, SQL Server, etc.)
  • Technical knowledge (software development, SQL, software engineering, AWS, GCP, Azure, Unix, data engineering, information technology, etc.)
  • Education (when applicable - bachelor's degree, computer science, engineering boot camp, etc.)
  • Don't forget to check local, state, and federal laws to make sure you hire fairly and include the necessary details in your project description.


Step 3: Evaluate the available consulting firms

It's now time to evaluate your options.

Where can you discover consulting firms? Here is a list of 175+ data consultants that could be a fit.

We recommend setting up introductory meetings with as many companies as you can. Most of these firms will have a 'Contact Us' form or a 'Schedule An Introductory Meeting' button on their website where you can get in touch.

Within a couple of hours, you can schedule 20+ meetings and start identifying the most promising partners.


Step 4: Refine your options and check references

As you identify the AI consultancies that could be the best fit, make sure to get references, evaluate projects, and ask for testimonials and case studies.

External certification, validation, and social proof do not guarantee a great experience, but a lack of external validation is a good sign that you should do more research before signing up for a big project.


Step 5: Begin with a AI project that is small in scope

Regardless of the consultant you choose, it's always a best practice to start small.

If you can begin with a month-to-month agreement or work on an hourly or project-based model for a few weeks, it allows you to evaluate a few key things:

  • Will you have a good working relationship with the consultant?
  • Is the consultant responsible?
  • Is the consultant able to communicate effectively?
  • Are the deliverables produced of high quality?

As you see success, you can always increase the scope of your relationship, or even decide to hire a full-time employee if the scope becomes large enough.

One common way to get started with an AI consultant is by building a custom ETL pipeline.