Engagement models

How we structure and price the work

Four ways to engage, from a free audit to ongoing AI operations. Scope drives the number, and the number is written down before any build starts.

Book the free audit See the four steps

Quick answer

AiEngineer.in works through four engagement models: a free AI Opportunity Audit, a fixed-fee roadmap sprint, fixed-scope build projects, and a monthly AI operations retainer. Pricing follows scope — the number of workflows, systems, and integrations involved — rather than a per-seat licence, and every quote is written before work starts.

We sell scoped work, not seats. There is no platform licence, no per-unit fee, and no minimum term on the first project. What follows is how engagements are usually structured and what drives the number in the quote — the quote itself comes after the audit, in writing, before any build starts.

The four models

Ways to engage

Sequential in practice, but each one can be commissioned on its own.

AI Opportunity Audit

Free · 30 minutes

A consultative call about how your operation runs today. We look for the workflows with enough volume and structure to automate, and say plainly which ones are not worth it yet.

Best for: Any firm deciding whether AI is worth a project at all

30-minute call with the engineer who would scope the work
Review of two or three candidate workflows
Straight answer on feasibility and sequencing
Written follow-up summarising what we discussed
No obligation and no deck

Book the free audit

AI Roadmap Sprint

Most common start

Fixed fee · typically 2–3 weeks

The Design phase as a standalone engagement. We document the workflows properly, decide what the AI may read and write, confirm integration access, and produce a costed build plan.

Best for: Teams who need a plan and a budget they can approve internally

Workflow documentation for each process in scope
Automation design including escalation and failure paths
Integration plan per system, with fallbacks where no API exists
Baseline metrics captured before anything is built
Phased build plan with a fixed quote per phase

Discuss a roadmap sprint

Build Project

Fixed scope · quoted per phase

Delivery of the agents, automations, and integrations described in the roadmap. Quoted per phase so the first release is small enough to verify before the next one is committed.

Best for: Firms with a defined workflow ready to automate

Agent configuration on your own content and policies
Integration work against the systems named in the roadmap
Staging environment and testing with your historical cases
Runbook, configuration notes, and team walkthrough
Fixed price per phase, with change requests quoted separately

Scope a build

AI Operations Retainer

Monthly · rolling, 30 days notice

Ongoing ownership of what is live: monitoring, conversation review, monthly reporting against baseline, and iteration as your policies, staff, and portfolio change.

Best for: Anyone running AI in production who wants it to keep working

Monitoring and alerting on failures and escalation spikes
Monthly report against the metrics agreed in Design
Configuration and workflow changes within an agreed allowance
Review of real conversations to close gaps
Recommendation on the next workflow worth automating

Talk about ongoing support

Most firms move Audit → Roadmap → Build → Retainer, but the roadmap and build can be commissioned separately if you already know what you want.

What drives the number

Why we quote after the audit, not before

Two firms asking for the same thing can differ by an order of magnitude. These are the variables that decide where a quote lands.

Number of workflows

One well-defined workflow is a small project. Five workflows across two departments is a programme, and the sequencing matters more than the total.

Integration access

A documented API is straightforward. A system with no API, or one that requires a vendor partnership to reach, is where timelines and cost grow.

State of your content

Agents answer from your leases, policies, and scripts. If those exist and are current, configuration is quick. If they live in people's heads, we build them first.

Volume and channels

Web chat only is cheaper than web, SMS, email, and voice. Each channel adds testing, escalation handling, and monitoring surface.

Approval and compliance requirements

Human checkpoints, audit logging, and brokerage or legal review add design and testing work. They are usually worth it; they are not free.

Ongoing change rate

Operations that change monthly need a larger retainer allowance than a stable process that runs the same way all year.

Commercial terms

The things people ask before they ask about price

No platform licence, no per-seat fee, no surprise invoices. Where third-party costs exist, you see them.

Third-party costs — model API usage, SMS and telephony, e-sign, hosting — are billed at cost or run on your own accounts, so you can see them directly.
You own the configuration, prompts, and integration code delivered under the engagement.
Build work is quoted in writing before it starts. Anything outside that scope is a separate quote, not a surprise invoice.
If the audit suggests AI is not the right investment for your situation, we will say so and there is nothing to pay.

Get a written quote Read the full FAQ

No published price list

We would rather quote accurately than advertise a number we cannot honour

A headline price on this page would either be so low it misleads or so high it puts off the firms we are best placed to help. The audit costs nothing, and the quote that follows it is fixed and in writing.

Frequently asked questions

Why is there no price list on this page?

Because scope drives cost. Two firms asking for a tenant support agent can differ by an order of magnitude depending on systems, data quality, and integration access. You get a written fixed quote after the audit, before any build work starts.

Is the AI Opportunity Audit really free?

Yes — a 30-minute consultative call at no cost and with no obligation. If we conclude AI is not the right investment for your situation, we will tell you that on the call.

Do you charge per user or per unit?

No. There is no per-seat or per-unit licence, because we are not selling a platform. Build work is quoted by scope, and ongoing AI operations are a monthly retainer sized to what is running.

Who owns what you build?

You do — the configuration, prompts, and integration code delivered under the engagement. Third-party model and platform costs (for example, model API usage) are billed at cost or paid directly by you under your own accounts.

Can we start small?

Starting small is the recommended path: one workflow, one integration, measured against a baseline. Later phases are quoted once the first one is demonstrably working.

See what AI can actually automate in your business

Book a free 30-minute AI Opportunity Audit. We map your current workflows, name the two or three that AI can carry, and tell you plainly where it would not help.

Book a free AI audit See how we work