AI Consulting: Costs, Process and Results in 2026

You know that AI could make a difference in your business, but not where to start. The offers you receive range from a free webinar to a consulting project lasting several months with a five-figure budget. What you actually get out of it often stays vague: a slide deck, a few ideas, a workshop. Before you spend money, you want to understand what AI consulting costs, what you should get for it and how to recognise a good offer.

This article sorts out the common consulting formats, lists our own fixed prices and shows which results you should have in hand at the end.

Why prices for AI consulting vary so much

Providers sell very different services under the label "AI consulting". Some mean a training session on using ChatGPT, others a strategy for the whole company, others again the development of a specific solution. It also matters who is advising: a large consultancy with several people on the project, a software vendor that ends up recommending its own product, or a specialist who also builds things.

The main reasons for the price differences:

• Scope: An analysis of one area is different from a strategy for every department.
• Result: An ideas workshop costs less than an assessment with effort, benefit and priorities.
• Depth: Someone who looks at your real processes, programs and data needs more time than someone presenting general possibilities.
• Billing: Day rates make total costs hard to plan; fixed prices for clearly described services do not.

So never ask only about the price, always also ask: what exactly do I get in writing at the end?

The three forms of AI consulting

For most SMEs, three forms are relevant, and they build on each other.

1. Potential analysis: where does AI pay off for us? A consultant looks at your processes and finds the places where AI genuinely saves time or prevents errors. The result is a prioritised list of concrete use cases, a rough estimate of effort and the prerequisites, such as which data must be available. This fits if you do not yet know where to start.

2. Strategy and roadmap: in which order do we proceed? Building on the analysis, you get a plan for the coming months: which projects come first, which tools you use, how data protection and staff training are handled and what budget is realistic. This fits if several areas are affected or management needs a basis for a decision.

3. Ongoing support: someone who stays on it Questions keep coming up during rollout: which tool suits this task? Is this provider GDPR-compliant? Why does the AI deliver poor results here? Monthly support gives you a fixed point of contact without having to hire your own AI specialists.

What AI consulting costs at EA Digital Solutions

Our consulting services have fixed prices (as of October 2026):

• AI potential analysis: 890 euros. We look at your processes and deliver a prioritised list of use cases with effort estimates.
• AI strategy and roadmap: 1,490 euros. An implementation plan with priorities, tools, budget range and the points on data protection and the EU AI Act.
• AI support: from 890 euros per month. A fixed contact for questions, tool selection and step-by-step rollout.

If the consulting is to turn into a concrete solution, such as an assistant for your company knowledge or an agent that prepares enquiries, AI integration starts at 2,500 euros. One advantage of getting consulting and implementation from one source: the recommendations stay realistic, because the person giving them also has to build them. You will find all services on our page on AI consulting in Graz.

Which results you should have in hand at the end

Good AI consulting does not end with enthusiasm but with documents you can base decisions on. Check whether your offer includes these points:

• A prioritised list of concrete use cases, based on your processes and not on industry examples from presentations
• An honest assessment of effort and benefit, including the cases in which AI is not the right solution
• Clear prerequisites: which data, programs and access are needed, and who in the company is responsible?
• Notes on data protection and the legal situation, such as data processing agreements with AI providers and the duty to promote staff AI literacy, which has applied since 2 February 2025 under Art. 4 of the EU AI Act (more in our article on the AI literacy obligation)
• A first step with a budget that you could commission right away, or a reasoned recommendation to wait

Example: A trades business with twelve employees wants "something with AI". The potential analysis shows that most time is lost writing quotes from notes and photos. The recommendation is an AI assistant that turns the notes into a draft quote for the master craftsman to check. A website chatbot, on the other hand, is put on hold because hardly any enquiries come in through the website.

How to recognise good AI consulting

• It asks about your processes first, not about tools. Anyone who already knows the right product in the first meeting is more likely selling than advising.
• It also says what will not work. An analysis in which every idea becomes a big success is not very credible.
• It works with fixed prices and described results. That way you know in advance what you will get.
• It explains things clearly. You do not need to become a tech expert, but every recommendation should have a reason you can follow.
• It does not quote made-up numbers. Promises such as "50 percent time savings" with no link to your processes are a warning sign.
• It thinks about your staff. AI only gets used if the team understands what it is for and how to use it.

How to prepare for the consulting

The better the preparation, the more concrete the result. You do not need any technical knowledge for this. Helpful are:

• A list of the programs you use every day, such as accounting, inventory management, CRM, email and Excel files
• Three to five activities that regularly take a lot of time, ideally with a rough estimate of how often they occur
• Real examples, such as a typical customer enquiry, a quote or a delivery note, anonymised if you prefer
• Your questions and concerns, for example about data protection or acceptance within the team

Also involve the employees who do these tasks today. They know best where things get stuck and are more likely to support a later solution.

Is there funding for AI consulting?

In recent years, aws (Austria Wirtschaftsservice) has run several calls for AI projects, such as AI-Start and AI-Adoption. According to aws.at, these calls are currently closed (as of October 2026). New calls are announced there, so it is worth checking before your project starts. For companies in Styria, SFG also runs funding programmes. Which ones are open and whether they fit your plans is listed on sfg.at.

What matters for almost all funding: you apply before the project starts, and the funding body makes the decision. You will find a current overview on our AI funding page. Do not plan your consulting only for when funding is available. A good analysis for 890 euros often pays for itself faster than a long wait for the next call.

How an AI potential analysis works with us

1. Free initial consultation: We clarify which areas to look at and whether an analysis makes sense for you.
2. Mapping your processes: In one session, on site in Graz or online, we go through your most important processes and programs.
3. Assessment: We rate the use cases by benefit, effort and risk.
4. Results meeting: You receive the prioritised list in writing, and we discuss together which first step makes sense.

Throughout, you talk directly to the developer who would also build any later solution.

Your next step

In a free initial consultation you tell us where your business loses the most time. Afterwards you will know whether an AI potential analysis makes sense for you or whether a smaller, concrete project gets you there faster. Our office is in Graz, and working together remotely works just as well across Austria.