AI Consultancy That Gives You Clarity, Not Just Hype
Hartz AI provides AI consultancy for UK SMEs with 10 to 250 employees. We deliver readiness audits, strategic roadmaps and fractional Chief AI Officer support so your leadership team can make confident, evidence-based decisions about AI without hiring a full-time specialist.
MIT research shows that organisations working with an AI consultant achieve a 67% implementation success rate, compared with 33% for those going it alone. Hartz AI builds capability, not dependency — our goal is that your team leads AI initiatives independently within 12 months.
Hartz AI provides AI consultancy for UK SMEs, from readiness audits and strategic roadmapping to fractional Chief AI Officer services. We help businesses with 10 to 250 employees build AI capability through expert guidance, phased implementation and measurable outcomes.
What is a fractional Chief AI Officer and why do UK SMEs need one?
A fractional CAIO gives your organisation executive-level AI leadership on a part-time basis. Instead of hiring a full-time Chief AI Officer at £250k–£400k+ per year, you get structured strategic guidance, governance oversight and board-level decision support at a fraction of the cost.
According to IBM's Institute for Business Value, 26% of organisations already employ a CAIO and 66% expect to have one within two years. For UK SMEs with 10 to 250 employees, a fractional model closes the AI leadership gap without the headcount commitment.
Our fractional CAIO service covers AI strategy, vendor evaluation, governance policy and implementation oversight. Some organisations use the term virtual CAIO — the model is the same: senior AI leadership embedded in your business on a flexible basis.
A fractional CAIO provides the leadership — but the first deliverable is usually a strategy and roadmap that gives the board clarity on where AI fits.
How does AI strategy consulting turn ambition into a roadmap?
An AI strategy consultant helps your leadership team move from ‘we should do something with AI’ to a prioritised roadmap with timelines, resource requirements and expected returns for each initiative. The roadmap sequences projects by impact and complexity so your organisation invests in the right order.
The process starts with a readiness assessment that evaluates your current capabilities, data quality, team skills and risk profile. From there, we identify two to three high-impact AI opportunities and build a phased implementation plan your board can approve with confidence.
McKinsey's 2024 research confirms that companies with a clear AI strategy are 2.5 times more likely to achieve significant value from AI. For UK SMEs, the gap between having ambition and having a plan is where most value is lost. A structured approach to strategy consulting closes that gap. For teams who need to build AI fluency before shaping strategy, our AI training workshops provide the foundational understanding that makes strategic conversations more productive. Once the roadmap is clear, the next question every board asks is: what does this actually cost, and what return should we expect?
What does AI consultancy actually cost UK SMEs?
AI consultant rates in the UK range from £120 to £400 per hour depending on seniority and scope. For a typical UK SME engagement, expect to invest £15k–£50k for an initial strategy project that includes readiness assessment, roadmap and governance recommendations.
Fractional CAIO retainers typically run £2k–£5k per month for part-time AI leadership — a fraction of the £250k–£400k+ annual cost of a full-time Chief AI Officer. The return on that investment is measurable: research from DarwinApps indicates that well-scoped AI projects deliver 250–400% ROI within 6 to 18 months.
The University of St Andrews found that AI adoption increases productivity by 27–133% in UK SMEs, depending on the sector and implementation quality. We help you build a business case your board can approve — tying every recommendation to specific outcomes like time saved, cost avoided, revenue opportunity or risk reduced. With costs understood, the practical question becomes whether your organisation is ready to act — and that starts with a structured readiness assessment.
How do you assess whether your business is ready for AI?
An AI readiness assessment evaluates your organisation across five dimensions: data quality, team capability, process maturity, technology infrastructure and leadership alignment. The result is a clear picture of where you stand today and what needs to change before AI can deliver measurable value.
The Alan Turing Institute, through the Innovate UK BridgeAI programme, recommends that SMEs start with a structured assessment before investing in AI tools. Our AI audit evaluates 40+ processes across your organisation to surface genuine risks, gaps and opportunities — not theoretical ones.
Most SMEs we work with discover they are more ready than they think in some areas and less ready in others. An AI maturity assessment removes guesswork: you get a prioritised list of actions ranked by impact and effort — a practical digital transformation roadmap, not a theoretical one. For organisations that need hands-on implementation after the assessment, our AI implementation services turn roadmap priorities into working systems.
For SMEs weighing their options, the choice of consultancy partner matters as much as the methodology — which raises the question of whether a boutique firm or a Big Four consultancy is the right fit.
Why do UK SMEs choose boutique AI consultancies over the Big Four?
Big Four consultancies charge £2k–£5k per day and typically serve enterprises with 1,000+ employees. For a UK SME with 50 to 250 staff, the economics do not work — and neither does the approach. Enterprise frameworks rarely translate to organisations where the CEO also handles procurement.
Among AI consulting firms in the UK, boutique consultancies like Hartz AI offer three advantages for SMEs: proportionate pricing, direct access to senior independent consultants (not graduate analysts), and recommendations that are tool-agnostic rather than locked to a vendor partner ecosystem.
Industry data shows that 73% of companies now use a hybrid model — a small in-house AI core supported by outsourced expertise. For SMEs, a boutique consultancy provides the outsourced layer without the overhead of a Big Four retainer. Learn more about our methodology and approach to see how we work with organisations at your scale.
The Main Ways We Deliver AI Consultancy
Our consultancy work is flexible but structured. These core engagement types give you different ways to access strategic support, depending on where you're starting from and what you need.
AI Readiness Audit
A structured assessment of where you stand today, covering capability, risk, tools, data, and culture, so you know exactly what's realistic.
- Understand your current AI maturity.
- Map key risks, gaps, and opportunities.
- Give leadership a realistic starting point.
Strategic AI Roadmap
A clear, prioritised plan that connects AI opportunities to your goals, constraints, and capacity.
- Identify high-impact, low-friction starting points.
- Sequence projects so change feels manageable.
- Give leaders a realistic view of timelines and outcomes.
Fractional Chief AI Officer
Executive-level AI leadership on a part-time basis giving you direction, governance, and momentum without the cost of a full-time hire.
- Ongoing strategic guidance and decision support.
- Governance, policy, and ethical considerations.
- Support in evaluating tools, vendors, and investments.
How AI Consultancy Fits with Training, Implementation & Champions
Consultancy isn't a standalone activity. It sits at the heart of your AI journey connecting training, implementation, and long-term capability so you move in a joined-up way.
Build Understanding
Use AI Training to create shared understanding and confidence across your teams.
AI TrainingDiagnose & Decide
Use Readiness Audits and Roadmaps to decide what to do, in what order, and why.
AI ConsultancyImplement & Optimise
Use AI Implementation and Bespoke AI Solutions to turn strategy into systems.
AI ImplementationEmbed & Lead
Use AI Champion Programmes and fractional CAIO to embed capability and leadership.
AI Champion ProgrammesBuild Understanding
Use AI Training to create shared understanding and confidence across your teams.
AI TrainingDiagnose & Decide
Use Readiness Audits and Roadmaps to decide what to do, in what order, and why.
AI ConsultancyImplement & Optimise
Use AI Implementation and Bespoke AI Solutions to turn strategy into systems.
AI ImplementationEmbed & Lead
Use AI Champion Programmes and fractional CAIO to embed capability and leadership.
AI Champion ProgrammesNot sure if you need consultancy or training?
If your team needs to build AI fluency before making strategic decisions, training is usually the right starting point. Many organisations combine both - training first, then consultancy to shape the plan.
Explore AI TrainingNeed us to build, not just advise?
If you already know what you need and want hands-on implementation - custom AI workflows, bespoke tools, or system integration - our implementation team can take your roadmap and make it real.
Explore AI ImplementationFAQs About AI Consultancy
Common Questions About AI Consultancy with Hartz AI
These questions help you understand what AI consultancy feels like in practice, and how it complements training, implementation, and leadership support.
Clarity before complexity
Ready to Make Clear, Confident Decisions About AI?
If AI is on your agenda, you deserve conversations that feel grounded, honest, and practical, not overwhelming or salesy. Let's talk about where you are, where you want to go, and how AI can support that journey in a realistic way.