Hire an AI Consultant · New York, NY

Hire an AI consultant in New York.

The problem is not technical. JPMorgan, Goldman, BlackRock, and the major law firms on Park Avenue all have the engineering resources to build AI systems. What they don't have is agreement on which problems to solve first.

The CTO wants to build. The CDO wants to buy. Three business unit heads have conflicting vendor preferences. Five platform salespeople are in the building every week. The board wants a roadmap by Q3.

An independent consultant with no platform to sell runs the process: stakeholder interviews, use case ranking by business value, honest build vs. buy analysis, vendor evaluation without a commission motive. The output is a 90-day roadmap the organization can actually execute.

Fixed scope, fixed price, agreed upfront based on the scope and number of use cases evaluated.

How we work

Tell us about the AI decision creating gridlock.

What changes when you bring in an independent consultant.

The use case map gets built

Most organizations have 15-30 AI use case ideas floating in email threads and strategy decks. None of them have been scored against business value or technical feasibility. The first thing we do is build that map. Use cases get ranked by expected ROI, data readiness, and engineering complexity. The top 3-5 get advanced analysis.

The vendor pitches get evaluated independently

When a vendor tells you their platform handles your use case with 95% accuracy, that number is from their benchmark, not your data. We design proof-of-concept tests against your actual documents and workflows. A financial services use case that scores 95% on a generic benchmark may score 68% on your specific contract types. That difference matters before you sign a 3-year contract.

The build vs. buy decision gets a cost model

Building a custom AI system costs $150-400k in engineering time for a mid-complexity use case. Buying a vendor solution costs $80-200k/year in licensing. The right answer depends on the specificity of your use case, the quality of your data, and your team's ability to maintain what gets built. We model both paths with real numbers.

The stakeholders get aligned on a single document

The output of the engagement is a written 90-day roadmap that every stakeholder has reviewed and commented on before finalization. The document replaces competing proposals. When the board asks for an AI strategy in Q3, you hand them this document, not a slide deck.

What the engagement produces.

Four written deliverables. All owned by you at the end of the engagement. No slide decks, no vague strategy frameworks.

Use case analysis

Every AI opportunity identified, scored, and ranked by business value and technical feasibility. Scoring methodology is visible.

Build vs. buy recommendation

For each top-3 use case: a cost model for building custom and a cost model for buying. Recommendation with rationale.

Vendor shortlist

For any 'buy' use case: 3-4 vendors with evaluation criteria, proof-of-concept test design, and contract risk flags.

90-day roadmap

Milestone plan with owners, dependencies, and success metrics. Written for an engineering or operations team to act on.

How we work with New York clients.

Remote-first, async by default

Shared Slack channel, written updates every Friday, recorded walkthroughs for every milestone. You don't need to schedule a recurring meeting. Work progresses on your team's schedule.

Fixed scope before any work starts

Discovery call, written scope document, fixed price. You approve the scope before we start. Scope changes require a written change order. No surprise invoices at month end.

Two-week start

We can typically start within two weeks of a signed agreement. No job posting, no interviewing, no three-month ramp time. Useful when the board has set a deadline.

Questions we get from New York clients.

Why are large New York financial firms struggling to ship AI strategy in 2025?: The typical pattern: the board sets an AI mandate, the CTO and CDO propose conflicting platforms (one wants Microsoft Azure OpenAI, one wants a custom build), and three business units each commissioned their own vendor demos. No one has mapped the use cases to measurable business value, so every proposal looks equally compelling. An independent consultant with no platform to sell runs a structured stakeholder process, maps each use case to a financial metric, and produces a ranked priority list. That document is what breaks the gridlock.
Do you work with law firms on AI strategy, not just financial services?: Yes. New York's large law firms have specific AI evaluation needs that general consultants miss. Document automation tools from companies like Harvey or Casetext need to be evaluated against the firm's specific practice areas. A tool that works well for M&A document review may perform poorly on litigation discovery. We evaluate AI tools against a representative sample of the firm's actual documents before recommending anything.
What does a 90-day AI roadmap actually contain?: It contains four things: (1) a ranked use case list with the scoring methodology visible, so stakeholders can see why Customer Support Triage ranked above Document Classification, not just that it did; (2) a build vs. buy recommendation for each top-3 use case, with cost models for each path; (3) a vendor shortlist for any use case in the 'buy' column, with evaluation criteria and a POC test design; (4) a 90-day milestone plan with owners, dependencies, and success metrics. It is written to be handed to an engineering or operations team and acted on.
How long does a consulting engagement take for a New York enterprise?: A standard AI consulting engagement takes 3-5 weeks from kickoff to final delivery. The first week is stakeholder interviews and document review. Weeks 2-3 are analysis: use case scoring, build/buy modeling, vendor evaluation if applicable. Week 4 is draft delivery and feedback. Week 5 is final revisions and handoff. For larger organizations with more stakeholders, the timeline extends to 6-7 weeks. We can start within two weeks of a signed agreement.

Break the AI strategy gridlock.

Tell us what decision is stuck. We reply within one business day with a rough scope and price range. No commitment required.

Hire an AI consultant in New York.

The CTO wants to build. The CDO wants to buy. Three business unit heads have conflicting vendor preferences. Five platform salespeople are in the building every week. The board wants a roadmap by Q3.

Fixed scope, fixed price, agreed upfront based on the scope and number of use cases evaluated.

What changes when you bring in an independent consultant.

The use case map gets built

The vendor pitches get evaluated independently

The build vs. buy decision gets a cost model

The stakeholders get aligned on a single document

What the engagement produces.

Four written deliverables. All owned by you at the end of the engagement. No slide decks, no vague strategy frameworks.

Use case analysis

Every AI opportunity identified, scored, and ranked by business value and technical feasibility. Scoring methodology is visible.

Build vs. buy recommendation

For each top-3 use case: a cost model for building custom and a cost model for buying. Recommendation with rationale.

Vendor shortlist

For any 'buy' use case: 3-4 vendors with evaluation criteria, proof-of-concept test design, and contract risk flags.

90-day roadmap

Milestone plan with owners, dependencies, and success metrics. Written for an engineering or operations team to act on.

How we work with New York clients.

Remote-first, async by default

Shared Slack channel, written updates every Friday, recorded walkthroughs for every milestone. You don't need to schedule a recurring meeting. Work progresses on your team's schedule.

Fixed scope before any work starts

Discovery call, written scope document, fixed price. You approve the scope before we start. Scope changes require a written change order. No surprise invoices at month end.

Two-week start

We can typically start within two weeks of a signed agreement. No job posting, no interviewing, no three-month ramp time. Useful when the board has set a deadline.

Questions we get from New York clients.

Why are large New York financial firms struggling to ship AI strategy in 2025?

The typical pattern: the board sets an AI mandate, the CTO and CDO propose conflicting platforms (one wants Microsoft Azure OpenAI, one wants a custom build), and three business units each commissioned their own vendor demos. No one has mapped the use cases to measurable business value, so every proposal looks equally compelling. An independent consultant with no platform to sell runs a structured stakeholder process, maps each use case to a financial metric, and produces a ranked priority list. That document is what breaks the gridlock.

Do you work with law firms on AI strategy, not just financial services?

Yes. New York's large law firms have specific AI evaluation needs that general consultants miss. Document automation tools from companies like Harvey or Casetext need to be evaluated against the firm's specific practice areas. A tool that works well for M&A document review may perform poorly on litigation discovery. We evaluate AI tools against a representative sample of the firm's actual documents before recommending anything.

What does a 90-day AI roadmap actually contain?

It contains four things: (1) a ranked use case list with the scoring methodology visible, so stakeholders can see why Customer Support Triage ranked above Document Classification, not just that it did; (2) a build vs. buy recommendation for each top-3 use case, with cost models for each path; (3) a vendor shortlist for any use case in the 'buy' column, with evaluation criteria and a POC test design; (4) a 90-day milestone plan with owners, dependencies, and success metrics. It is written to be handed to an engineering or operations team and acted on.

How long does a consulting engagement take for a New York enterprise?

A standard AI consulting engagement takes 3-5 weeks from kickoff to final delivery. The first week is stakeholder interviews and document review. Weeks 2-3 are analysis: use case scoring, build/buy modeling, vendor evaluation if applicable. Week 4 is draft delivery and feedback. Week 5 is final revisions and handoff. For larger organizations with more stakeholders, the timeline extends to 6-7 weeks. We can start within two weeks of a signed agreement.

Break the AI strategy gridlock.

Tell us what decision is stuck. We reply within one business day with a rough scope and price range. No commitment required.