Should you use an existing AI tool or build something custom?

Look at the tools you already have

List the software your team uses and the parts of the process that still happen by hand. Existing features may be useful once they are configured around your information and adopted by the team.

Our implementation work includes explaining which features and specialist tools fit, why we recommend them, and what setup they need. We check supported connections and account permissions before agreeing on the work.

Make the outcome specific

Describe what your team should be able to do afterwards. For example, bring together customer information and follow-up work, route operational requests, or prepare a recurring report with information from several sources.

• Where does the work start and finish?
• Which information needs to be available?
• Who reviews the output?
• What should stay with a person?
• How will your team tell whether the setup is useful?

Try the same work in each option

Use the same sample records and expected result when comparing approaches. A product demo may use ideal data, while your team deals with incomplete records and unusual requests. Check whether the proposed setup can handle both.

Write down the differences that would affect the team: number of manual handoffs, required corrections, supported permissions, operating cost, and who maintains the setup. You do not need a perfect score to make a decision, but you do need to understand the tradeoffs.

Include adoption in the decision

Choosing software is only part of implementation. Someone needs to set it up, test realistic cases, explain it to the team, and answer questions once people begin using it.

The AI Implementation Team provides that agreed help through video calls, screen sharing, and implementation work, starting at $500 a month. We work on one agreed priority at a time; software subscriptions are separate.

• AI Implementation Team

Know when to discuss a custom build

If your process needs its own application, detailed business rules, or connections beyond what an existing tool can support, a custom build may fit better. We can write software and design infrastructure around those needs.

A custom proposal sets out the build, ongoing support, hosting, usage costs, ownership, and handover. Provider choices and suitable open-source models can be considered as part of the architecture.

• Custom project pricing

Start with a conversation about the work

You do not need to arrive with an architecture or a chosen product. Bring the process, the software you use, and the parts that slow your team down. We can work through the options and agree on a useful starting point.

• How we work together