Should You Hire An AI Consultant?

We generated some answers from humans. The results were mixed.

- LIZ BRODY

As generative AI rose in prominence this year, Jayesh Gadewar had a thought: We can use this to leapfrog our competitors. He's the co-founder of Scrut Automation, a startup that builds compliance and security software for businesses, but as far as AI, they just didn't have the expertise.

So he did what many other leaders are now doing: He hired an AI consultant.

"Generative AI is funny in that the basic capabilities you get for your $20 a month for ChatGPT Plus are pretty impressive," says Tom Davenport, professor of information technology and management at Babson College and a senior advisor at Deloitte's AI practice, "but to customize it is technically challenging." That's why, since OpenAI's chart-topping chatbot landed a year ago, a new breed of specialist has risen to help companies harness Al's game-changing wizardry.

The consultants run the gamut. There are major players like Deloitte, IBM, and Accenture, all of which expanded their generative AI consulting practices this year. But smaller consultancies that help startups with leaner budgets are also beginning to crop up, and Scrut hired one of them called LeewayHertz.