What does an AI consultant do, and how do you choose one in Australia?

An AI consultant helps a business work out where AI will be useful, which tools to use and how to roll them out safely. A good one will also tell you where AI isn’t worth it.

What you should get

Whatever the title, useful AI consulting usually ends with these things:

• A review of how your business runs: where the time goes, and which jobs are repetitive.
• A shortlist of opportunities: ranked by likely benefit, cost and risk.
• Tool recommendations: with reasons, not one vendor for everything.
• A plan: what to do first, who does it and what it costs.
• Guardrails: rules for staff and customer data.

If you finish with a slide deck and no clear next step, you haven’t got much for your money.

When you need one

You probably don’t need a consultant to try ChatGPT. Advice starts to pay off when:

• AI will touch customer data or important decisions.
• Several systems need to be connected.
• Different people in the business are buying different tools.
• You’re about to spend real money on a project.

Questions to ask before you hire

1. What have you built yourself? Advice is more reliable from people who’ve shipped working systems.
2. Which AI vendors pay you? Commissions can affect recommendations, so ask directly.
3. What will we have at the end? Get the deliverables in writing.
4. How will we measure success? Hours saved, enquiries answered or sales are better than “AI readiness”.
5. How do you handle our data? Ask about privacy and where data will be stored.

Warning signs

Be careful with anyone who guarantees results before looking at your business, recommends the same tool to everybody, can’t explain things simply, or says you need to replace your people straight away.

A simple way to start

Begin with a short audit and one small pilot. A pilot shows what works in your business at low risk, and gives you real numbers before you commit to more.

If you’d like a second opinion, our AI consulting service starts with exactly that, and the quote is free.