Choosing a consultant · Guide 6 of 7
AI consultant vs agency vs freelancer: which fits?
AI consultant, AI automation agency or freelance AI consultant? How they differ in cost, scope and risk, and which kind of help your project needs.
Topic · 14 articles
AI automation
Using AI to take repetitive work out of everyday processes, often by connecting the tools a business already uses.
AI for small business
AI for small businesses (10 to 49 staff)
For firms with 10 to 49 staff: realistic first AI projects, how to buy help, what businesses this size spend and the free support available.
AI in practice
AI for large organisations and public bodies
AI for large organisations with 250+ staff and public bodies: buying through frameworks such as G-Cloud, supplier security checks, board oversight and AI NEDs.
AI in practice
AI for medium-sized businesses (50 to 249 staff)
AI for medium-sized businesses with 50 to 249 staff: first projects, running a supplier process, security checks, fractional leadership and board oversight.
AI for small business
AI for micro businesses and sole traders
What AI can realistically do for a sole trader or a business with up to 9 staff, where to start, what help costs and where to find free support.
AI for small business
AI for small business: a plain-English guide
What AI can and cannot do for a small business today, where to start, and how to tell a useful tool from an expensive distraction.
AI for small business
Becoming an AI-enabled business: beyond the tools
AI transformation for a small business changes more than software: how work, ownership and know-how are organised, and what you can skip.
Choosing a consultant
Build, buy or bring in help: choosing your AI route
Check the AI in tools you already pay for first. When to buy a product, build something custom, or bring in AI consulting services.
Choosing a consultant
How to avoid AI lock-in when you hire outside help
What AI lock-in looks like for a small business, and the questions about your data, exports and handover to settle before you sign anything.
AI in practice
How to tell whether AI is paying off
Logins and time saved do not prove an AI tool is worth it. Measure the full cost of each finished task against a baseline, and how often people overrule it.
AI in practice
Keeping a human in charge: simple AI guardrails
Practical guardrails for AI tools and agents in a small business. Decide what AI may do alone, what needs a person's approval, and how to undo mistakes.
AI for small business
Start with the problem, not the tool: your first AI use
How to pick a first AI use case that is worth doing, from a short list of everyday tasks, and how to check that AI is the right answer at all.
AI in practice
What a good first AI project looks like
How to pick, size and measure a first AI project in a small business, with clear rules for when to stop and when to scale up.
AI in practice
Why AI pilots stall, and how to stop yours stalling
Most AI trials that go nowhere fail for ordinary reasons. How to run a small pilot that ends in a clear yes or no, and survives contact with real work.