Guide · Buying AI help
What does an AI consultant do, and do you need one?
An AI consultant works out where AI will save your business time or money, then helps you put it in place and checks that it works. A good one starts from your own numbers, tells you what to build, what to buy and what to leave alone, and leaves you owning tools your team actually uses. A bad one sells you a strategy document.
The work, step by step
- Look at the business. Where the hours and the money go each week: the inbox, orders, quotes, stock, marketing spend, reporting.
- Make a plan. For each job, build, buy an existing tool, or wait. Often the honest answer is a tool you already pay for.
- Build. Set up the workflow in your own tools, with clear rules on what the AI does and who checks it.
- Train the team. Who uses it, who approves what, and what to do when it gets something wrong.
- Measure. Compare the hours or money before and after, and fix what isn't working.
The types of AI consultant
| Type | Typical work | Fits |
|---|---|---|
| Large consultancies | Strategy and transformation programmes | Large organisations with big budgets |
| Agencies | Chatbots, marketing and custom builds | A defined project you can brief |
| Implementation specialists | Audit, then building workflows in your own tools | Established businesses that want results without a big programme |
| Freelancers | Single builds or advice | Small, well-defined jobs |
| Software vendors' partners | Setting up one product | When you've already chosen the tool |
Do you need one?
Around 35% of UK businesses with 10 or more staff were using at least one AI technology in June 2026, up from about 12% in 2023 (ONS, 20 July 2026). The most common barriers businesses report are difficulty identifying where to use it, cost, and lack of expertise. Those three are what a good consultant fixes.
You probably need help if the same admin eats hours every week, you've tried a few tools without anything sticking, or you want AI working on your real systems rather than in a chat window. You probably don't if it's one tool for one person, or your team is already confident building its own workflows.
How to tell a good one
- Published, fixed prices and a clear scope, rather than an open-ended day rate.
- Examples of real work, with what it cost and what it saved.
- You own the accounts and the work. Nothing locked into the consultant's own platform.
- Email stays with a person, and every agent has an owner. If they're happy for AI to email your customers unchecked, or can't say who checks a chatbot, walk away.
- They'll tell you when not to bother. Some jobs aren't worth automating.
What we do
Niddy is an AI implementation consultancy for UK independent retailers and established brands, and for established businesses outside retail with admin that repeats. Niddy's AI Audit costs £1,495 fixed, takes five days with minimal client time, and carries a guarantee: ten times the fee in estimated annual value identified, or the fee back. After the audit, we build one workflow at a time in fixed-fee Sprints of £2,950 per workflow. Any email-connected AI we build is draft-only. Every other agent works within set limits, has a named owner on your side, and is reviewed and updated by us as part of our monthly support.
| What | Price | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| AI Audit | £1,495 fixed | Five days, minimal client time. A build, buy or wait plan from your own numbers. Ten times the fee in estimated annual value identified, or the fee back. |
| Sprint 1: set-up and team workshop | At the Sprint rate | Accounts and permissions set up properly, and a workshop so your team knows what the tools are for and who approves what. |
| Sprint, per workflow | £2,950 | One workflow built, tested and handed over in five to ten working days, in your own tools wherever we can. |
| Foundation | £2,000 a month | We advise and direct, your team implements. |
| Growth | £5,000 a month | Ongoing builds and support, three-month minimum. |
Not sure if you need an AI consultant? Book a 30-minute call and we'll tell you straight.
or email hello@niddy.co.uk
Questions we get asked
What's the difference between an AI consultant and an AI agency?
Usually the starting point. A consultant starts from your business and decides what's worth doing; an agency usually starts from a project you've already defined and builds it. Some, like us, do both: an audit first, then the build.
Can I do it myself instead?
Often, for single tools. Where help pays is in choosing which jobs are worth it, connecting AI to your real systems safely, and getting a team to actually use it.
How long does it take?
Our audit takes five days with minimal time from you. Each workflow after that takes five to ten working days to build and hand over.
How much does an AI consultant cost?
In the UK it ranges from a few hundred pounds for a small audit to six figures for large programmes. Ours is fixed: £1,495 for the audit and £2,950 per workflow. See our UK cost guide.