AI consultancy that also says no
Most AI consultancy ends in an advisory report. I am Thijs Bongertman, a forward deployed engineer from Rotterdam: I review your AI plans, build with you into production, at the table with your team, and say no when a plan does not deserve production. You rarely hear that from a consultant; it is exactly why clients call me.
Frequently asked
What does an AI consultant do?
An AI consultant assesses where AI makes your business money and what it costs to run that reliably. In practice: choosing use cases, reviewing pilots, and setting up the route to production with governance, compliance and maintenance. With me that does not end in a report but in a system that runs.
What does AI consultancy cost?
I work with fixed prices per format. The Scan starts at €1,995 ex VAT and takes about a week: I review your pilots and tell you which to kill, scale or rebuild. A Pilot-to-Production sprint takes four weeks at most. No hourly billing, no retainer without an end date.
What does an AI implementation cost?
It depends on what you already have running. With me it starts with a Scan from €1,995 ex VAT and about a week of work: per pilot I cost out what production takes in build, hosting, oversight and maintenance, and say which pilot is not worth that money. Building then happens in a Pilot-to-Production sprint of four weeks at most, at a fixed price. The largest cost is rarely the building; it is keeping alive something that should never have reached production.
When do you need AI consultancy?
At two moments. Before you build: when you want to know which use case actually pays off. And when pilots stay stuck: plenty runs in demo, nothing runs in production. That second one is the rule, not the exception: only 26% of companies get past the proof-of-concept and generate tangible value from AI (BCG, 2024).
How is Honest AI different from a large consulting firm?
Three things. You get one senior who builds it himself, not juniors with a template. I work with fixed prices and an end date. And I say no: if an AI plan does not deserve production, you hear it in week one, not after six months of discovery. What I built myself is online: Signal Match and Business Boosters.
The honest takeaway
Good AI consultancy is not more advice but less: one sharp choice about which use case deserves production, then building until it runs. Start small, with a one-week Scan, and only then decide whether you need more.
Want to know what your AI plans are worth?
In the Scan I review your AI work on ROI, risk and production readiness. One week, fixed price, honest answer. Even when that answer is no.