What is AI consulting?

Today we are going to explore the subject of consulting and in more depth what is AI consulting, what a consultant does and how it can help you and your business. 

What is the definition of Consulting?

Consulting is the act of offering expert advice and/or carrying out specific tasks in exchange for a fee. This can include giving impartial and objective advice and providing practical solutions. The consultant’s role is to provide a third-party viewpoint on the matter at hand.

What is a specialist AI consultant?

An AI consultant is an artificial intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) expert, typically with experience in mathematical, statistical, computer science or data science fields. They may also be part of a firm with access to PHD’s and data scientists who are experts in building advanced computer models. 

An AI consultant guides business leaders in identifying processes and challenges that could be automated using intelligent technology and helps create a plan or strategy. The consultant will then be responsible for implementing the plan. 

What can an AI consultant help you with?

There are two key areas an AI consultant can help you with;

• Develop an AI strategy and roadmap: For an organisation that wants to transform itself through the adoption of AI, a consultant or consultancy firm can be invaluable. In most organisations, many opportunities exist to automate processes and decision-making. Companies may also want to go beyond automation and concentrate on learning and organisational transformation.
• Planning and implementing an individual AI or ML project: If your organisation already has a strategy and a roadmap to implement AI and Machine Learning, then a consultant can help manage individual projects where they have particular expertise.

What approach does an AI consultant take to on a project?

To achieve either of these high-level tasks, the AI consultant will generally go through a standard 6-step consultation process which includes the following steps:

• Creating a connection with the client and setting objectives.
• Collecting relevant information.
• Examining the data.
• Creating a plan.
• Executing the plan.
• Checking the plan’s progress.

What are the benefits of using an AI consultant?

Demand for data scientists and AI consultants is at an all-time high as organisations seek to transform themselves using these technologies. If your organisation does not have enough resources in-house, then a consultant brings several benefits:

• Expertise: They may have the expertise your in-house team doesn’t have.
• Bandwidth: Your in-house team may have more work than they can deliver, and a consultant can add to their bandwidth.
• Benchmarking and best practice: The consultant is probably working in other organisations trying to solve similar problems and can benchmark your approach and bring insights from these other organisations.
• Cost savings: Consultants can be employed for just the needed period and represent a saving over in-house hires.
• Time: Adding extra resources can deliver a project quicker, and the benefits from the earlier time to value can often cover the cost of the consultant.

What are the types of AI consulting?

As mentioned above, an organisation may recruit a consultant to develop a strategy or road map. That consultant or consultancy would need to know all aspects of how AI can transform a business, and they don’t necessarily need to be experts in all of them. 

Once you choose a consultant to help you implement a single workstream within your roadmap or strategy, they will need to be an expert in the areas of AI and Machine learning that forms the basis of that project. 

These are normally grouped around the different use cases of AI and Machine learning, which include:

• Forecasting
• Optimisation and resource allocation
• Predictive modelling
• Natural Language Processing
• Computer Vision
• Generative AI
• Robotic process automation
• Data Engineering