AI consultant: what is hype and what works?

An AI consultant helps a business find where AI and automation actually pay off, and then builds the solution. It sounds simple but is often the hardest part: telling what saves time from what mostly looks modern.

Where does AI work well today?

In my projects I see AI do the most good when the task is repetitive, has clear rules and can be checked:

• Reports and summaries that are done by hand every week today.
• Sorting and tagging large amounts of text, such as enquiries, reviews or tickets.
• First drafts of copy, which a person then reviews and improves.
• Preparing data before analysis, where AI helps clean and group.
• Simple flows that move information between systems without anyone having to paste it in.

Where does it mostly become hype?

• General AI projects with no goal. If nobody can say what should get better, and how it is measured, it is rarely worth building.
• Replacing judgement that carries responsibility. AI can make things up (hallucination) and should not make decisions alone where mistakes cost a lot.
• Expensive tools nobody uses. The same pattern as in many MarTech stacks: more licences, not more impact.

What to demand

1. Start with a process, not with the tool. Which manual task takes the most time, and how often?
2. Keep a person in the loop where it matters.
3. Think about data protection. Which data may be sent to which service? That has to be settled before the build.
4. Measure before and after. How long did it take before, and how long does it take now?

How I work

I start by mapping the processes and making a short list of where automation gives the most. Then I build the solution, from integrations to flows that run in production, and follow up to check that it really saves time. Not a report with recommendations, but something that works. Read more about AI and automation as a service.

AI and visibility

There is also another side: how AI answers in search engines and chat tools choose what to cite. That affects how you should structure content on your site. I write about it in AI Overviews and SEO.

Wondering where AI would make a difference for you? Talk to me. I will tell you honestly if the answer is “not yet”.