Andrew RadosevichThe cost breakdown
Diagnostic: $5,000–$10,000 fixed-fee for a 2–3 week assessment with a 90-day plan deliverable. Pilot / first workflow: $7,500–$15,000 fixed-fee for a 30–60 day build that ships one production workflow. Monthly tooling: $200–$2,000 depending on usage volume (LLM API costs, automation platform subscriptions, vector database, observability). Ongoing advisory or build expansion: $3,000–$8,000/month for an embedded partner expanding to additional workflows. Total year-one: $25,000–$75,000 for a meaningful AI operating layer.
What drives cost up, and down
Drives cost up: high transaction volume (more LLM token usage), regulatory complexity (HIPAA, finance), legacy systems without APIs, multiple integration touchpoints, weekly cadence vs monthly. Drives cost down: starting with one workflow vs three, choosing high-leverage operational workflows over bespoke ones, having clean data already, having an internal champion who can absorb training and run the system after build.
Comparison to alternatives
Hiring a full-time AI/ML engineer: $150K–$200K+ in salary, 3–6 month ramp, talent scarce. Engaging a large consulting firm: $150K–$500K for a comparable scope, designed for enterprise budgets. Going DIY with ChatGPT subscriptions: $20–$200/month but no measurement, no integration, no operating layer, most stalls within a quarter. The $25–$75K SMB consulting envelope is the lowest total cost path to a working AI layer.
Realistic year-one ROI
For well-scoped first workflows: 3–8x ROI typical, with payback in 60–120 days. Operational workflows (support deflection, document processing, lead qualification) tend to pay back faster than revenue-side workflows (which compound over 2–3 quarters). If a provider can't model expected ROI in the Diagnostic, that's a signal to look elsewhere.
Pilot pricing by integration complexity
Pilot price tracks integration difficulty, not revenue. Roughly $7,500 covers a straightforward build: one system, structured inputs, a CRM-native workflow. $10,000 to $12,000 covers cross-system workflows touching two or three platforms. $15,000 covers regulated environments such as healthcare or financial services, where the build includes audit trail and compliance review. A quote above $15,000 for one workflow usually means scope has crept and the work should be re-quoted.
Ongoing advisory tiers
Monthly advisory splits into three practical tiers. At $3,000 per month you get oversight and governance while an internal team picks up the build. At $5,000 to $6,000 the build is shared, with scoping on the advisor side and execution on yours. At $8,000 the advisor leads the build of additional workflows. All three are valid, and the right tier depends on internal capacity rather than company size.
Two cost drivers most quotes leave out
Data hygiene and handover scope. Workflows that need data cleanup before automation add 20 to 40 percent to build cost, and it is far cheaper to find that during the Diagnostic than mid-build. Handover scope matters too: training one named owner is standard, training a team of ten is a separate workshop. Anything beyond those variables that moves the price should be itemized in writing.
Common questions
Can I do AI implementation under $10,000?
Yes. A $7,500 Diagnostic alone delivers a standalone 90-day plan and lifts the readiness score of your team significantly. You can then execute the plan internally if you have the capacity. If you don't, you'll spend the saved money on rework, because implementations without expertise tend to stall.
What does ongoing AI cost after year one?
Typical year-two run rate: $20–$40K, monthly tooling stays similar, advisory often steps down as your team takes ownership, build cost steps up as you expand to additional workflows. Year-three onwards is usually mostly tooling + opportunistic build sprints.
How does AI implementation cost compare for a $5M business vs a $25M business?
Year-one investment scales modestly with revenue: a $5M business typically spends $25–$40K, a $25M business $50–$75K. The driver isn't revenue, it's number of workflows automated and volume of usage. A $5M business with 3 high-volume workflows can spend more than a $25M business with 1 low-volume workflow.
Are there cheaper options than a paid Diagnostic?
Below the Diagnostic price you are buying a senior contractor or a recommendation, not an install. If the Diagnostic is genuinely out of reach, start with the free AI readiness assessment and the published cost calculator. Both are built so you can self-serve the first round of decisions.
Is the price fixed, or can it climb mid-project?
Diagnostic and pilot are fixed-fee by design. Ongoing advisory is fixed per month with scope agreed in advance. The only thing that should change price mid-engagement is a written change order you have approved. A contract that allows uncapped overages is a consulting model wearing different clothes.
Can pricing be tied to outcomes?
Outcome-tied pricing sounds appealing but introduces the wrong incentives at this scale, because the provider optimizes for the contracted metric instead of the durable system the business needs. Fixed fee tied to install completion aligns both sides on shipping the workflow without distorting the design.