What does AI consulting actually cost in the UK?
On most sites, the price is a contact form. You read about outcomes and methodology, then you hit “book a call” and learn nothing about the cost. Here is what AI consulting actually costs, what drives the number, and the one question worth asking before you sign anything.
Start
Try to find out what an AI consultant charges. On most sites, the price is a contact form. You read about outcomes and methodology, then you hit “book a call” and learn nothing about the cost. The honest answer behind the blank space is “it depends.” That is true. It is also a dodge. Here is what AI consulting actually costs, what drives the number, and the one question worth asking before you sign anything.
Why nobody publishes a price
“It depends” is true because the work varies. A one-page audit and a firm-wide operations review are not the same job, so a single number would mislead. But most consultants hide behind that to avoid anchoring you, to keep the day rate flexible, and to sell you the scope on the call. The result is a market where the buyer cannot compare anything. You are left guessing whether £1,000 or £30,000 is the right ballpark for what you need.
How AI consulting is priced
There are three common models, and the one you are quoted tells you a lot.
One buys time, one buys an outcome, one buys access. The model you’re quoted tells you a lot.
- 01By the day. Freelance consultants charge a day rate. Flexible, but you are buying time, not an outcome, and an open-ended engagement is your risk to carry, not theirs.
- 02By the project. A fixed scope at a fixed price. You know the cost before you start and you pay for a defined deliverable, not a clock.
- 03By the month. A retainer buys ongoing access. It earns its keep once you already know what you want done, less so as a way to work out where to start.
Then there is who you hire. A large consultancy, a boutique agency and an independent specialist can quote wildly different numbers for what sounds like the same work. With the big firm you pay for brand and process. With the independent you pay for judgement and hands-on delivery. Neither is automatically better value. It depends on whether you need a diagnosis, a build, or a name on the slide.
What actually drives the number
Scope is the big one: how many processes or pages are in play, and how deep the diagnosis goes. After that, whether implementation is included or just the recommendation, and the seniority of whoever actually does the work. A cheap day rate from someone learning on your business is not cheap. Judgement that tells you what to skip usually pays for itself before the invoice arrives.
Scope and judgement move the price. The day rate barely does.
What I charge
I publish my numbers, because you should be able to plan.
The AI Mystery Shopper is published in full. It starts with a free snapshot, an automated preview rather than a report. £750 tests one customer journey properly, and it is credited in full against a full review commissioned within 60 days. £4,500 covers the full review: five journeys, a prioritised list of what to fix first, and one retest within six months. Fixed scope, fixed price, and you know the cost before you commit.
The AI Opportunity Roadmap is quoted per engagement, after a short conversation. It maps where AI should be earning its place across your operations, and the price depends on how many processes are in scope. I will not pretend a firm-wide diagnostic fits one number. What I will do is quote it before any work starts, so there are no surprises.
The question that matters
A day rate tells you what an hour of someone’s time costs. It tells you nothing about whether the work pays back. That is the only number that counts.
£16,575 a year recovered
93% less time, and £16,575 a year recovered from a single workflow.
On a recent project, one review ran to five hours across three people. After the change, it took twenty minutes for one. That is 93% less time, and £16,575 a year recovered from a single workflow. The case study breaks down exactly how. Against a return like that, “what is your day rate” is the wrong question. The right one is: what will this recover, and how fast does it pay for itself.
How to judge whether a price is fair
Five checks, whoever you are talking to:
- 01Is the scope fixed, or open-ended? Open-ended means you carry the risk.
- 02Are you paying for time, or for a defined outcome?
- 03Does the price include the diagnosis, or only the build?
- 04Can they put a number on the payback, or only on the cost?
- 05Does the capability stay in your business, or do you rent it forever?
These five checks are the cost lens. For the full set of questions to put to a consultant before you sign, see how to choose an AI consultant.
Good AI consulting costs whatever it returns, several times over, fast, with the evidence to prove it. A price that comes with that evidence is usually fair. A day rate with a shrug is not a price, it is a placeholder. Ask what it pays back. If they cannot tell you, keep looking.
Plan around a number, not a contact form
If you want a number before you commit to anything, start where it costs nothing. The AI Mystery Shopper mystery shops your website with an AI agent and shows you whether it can complete the journeys your buyers actually take. The snapshot is free, the ladder above it is published, and you know the cost before you commit.
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