What to bring to a first AI consulting conversation

Bring the work, not a technology wish list

You do not need to know which agent or integration to buy. Bring one ordinary example of repetitive work, one awkward exception and one example that went wrong. Remove personal or confidential information before sharing. These examples reveal more about the job than a list of software buzzwords.

Make a one-page process sketch

For a hypothetical estimate process, write down where requests arrive, who checks missing details, where prices are approved and how the next person receives the job. Add approximate weekly volume and time spent at each step. Mark which decisions belong to staff. If the process changes depending on the customer, describe that branch rather than forcing everything into one path.

Ask about the exception route

Ask the consultant to explain what happens when a document is missing, a connection fails or an answer needs review. Microsoft’s error-handling guidance illustrates why retries, logging and failure routes are part of workflow design. Your discovery output should identify an exception owner and a manual route, even if a different platform is eventually selected.

The source supports the named feature or principle. Implementation examples are proposals, not client results. Microsoft: workflow error handling

Leave with a bounded proposal

A useful scope names the input, expected output, connected tools, reviewer and completion test. It should also say what is excluded, who owns the accounts and how support works. Ask whether your current software can already cover part of the task. A consultant should be able to explain the proposed improvement without requiring access to your production passwords during the first conversation.

Know how you will judge it

Agree a baseline and a pilot period before building. For example, count preparation and checking minutes for ten comparable estimates, then repeat that measurement during the pilot. Include your team’s training time and recurring fees. A good first conversation should help you decide whether the project is worth doing, including when a simpler checklist would be sufficient.

Discuss an implementation

This guide applies across Canada. We provide remote AI consulting for businesses in Burnaby; it does not describe a local client or a staffed office.

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