AI Readiness Discovery for Irish SMEs.
AI Readiness Discovery is a fixed-price review. It shows an Irish business where AI would save time or money, what it would cost, and what to do first. It is for owners whose staff already use AI tools without a plan, and who have no senior technical lead to ask. It costs €4,500 for 5 consultant days over 4 to 8 weeks, or €6,300 for 7 consultant days over 4 to 8 weeks, excluding VAT. For a smaller first step, the AI Quick-Start Assessment (€495) ends with a written one-page plan.
Check whether this matches your business.
You run an established Irish business and you have no senior technical lead. This page is for you if one of these sounds familiar:
If you run a smaller business and want to use AI tools safely and cheaply, start with the AI Quick-Start Assessment instead.
If you want the short version for yourself or your board first, book the Leadership AI Briefing: 2 hours for €450, excluding VAT. It covers where AI pays in your sector, what it costs, what the law asks, and how to decide. It is part of our AI Training and AI Literacy service.
We work across Ireland, remotely first and on site by arrangement.
What you are dealing with today.
You are thinking about hiring an AI consultant, but you are not sure what you would be buying. What you want is a straight answer to three questions. Where would AI save time or money in this business? What would it cost? What should we do first?
You also want that answer from someone who is not selling one vendor's AI tool. As an AI consultancy in Ireland, we sell specific, priced pieces of work, not a transformation programme.
The work, step by step.
A founder does the work. Over the engagement we:
If you apply for Enterprise Ireland's Digital Discovery grant, we help with the application. Enterprise Ireland decides eligibility, and we never promise approval.
A written handover comes with every engagement.
From the AI Readiness Discovery:
From the AI Quick-Start Assessment:
We credit the Quick-Start fee in full against any follow-on work with us.
How long the work takes.
The shorter Discovery is 5 consultant days over 4 to 8 weeks. The longer one is 7 consultant days over 4 to 8 weeks.
The Quick-Start Assessment runs on site or remote. Duration: Half day.
If you plan to use Digital Discovery, note that Enterprise Ireland says the expert's days run "typically over 8-12 weeks". That is not the same as the timeline above, so ask Enterprise Ireland how the timing applies to you before work starts.
A fixed scope and a fixed price.
For a smaller business that wants to use AI tools safely and cheaply. You come away with quick wins and a written plan.
€495
For established businesses with no senior technical lead. It shows where AI would save time or money, what it would cost, and what to do first.
€4,500
For established businesses with more systems, sites or teams to review. The same Discovery, with more consultant days.
€6,300
Grants that may pay part of this work.
Enterprise Ireland's Digital Discovery grant helps a business hire a digital expert, with "a digital, data and/or automation action plan" among its expected outcomes. Enterprise Ireland's own pages say:
Our Discovery options are 5 consultant days over 4 to 8 weeks and 7 consultant days over 4 to 8 weeks. The scheme's range is 3 to 7 days. Our prices for both options include travel and subsistence. The Leadership AI Briefing lasts 2 hours, well short of the scheme's 3 to 7 days. The Digital Discovery guide lists what the scheme does not cover. The scheme page says: "Once your application is accepted and approved, you will receive a letter of offer." Enterprise Ireland decides eligibility.
Your Local Enterprise Office offers a free digital and AI readiness audit called Digital for Business, carried out by its own consultants. It is for small enterprises with between 1 and 50 paid employees that are not currently clients of Enterprise Ireland or IDA. It has further conditions. It is a separate service. It may suit you better than our Quick-Start; ask your Local Enterprise Office.
We do not decide who is eligible. Each agency publishes its scheme's rules and takes questions. We never promise approval.
The sources are listed under References.
The AI Readiness Discovery costs €4,500 (5 consultant days over 4 to 8 weeks) or €6,300 (7 consultant days over 4 to 8 weeks). The AI Quick-Start Assessment costs €495. All three exclude VAT, which is added at the standard rate of 23%. Every price is published on our pricing page.
Start with the Quick-Start if you are a smaller business and want a first look at your tools, three quick wins and the risks. We credit its fee in full against follow-on work, so it is not lost if you go on to the Discovery. Choose the Discovery if you want a costed roadmap and an implementation plan.
Possibly. Enterprise Ireland's Digital Discovery grant covers up to 80% of the cost, to a maximum grant of €5,000, for firms that meet its rules. The Funding fit section above lists the rules. Enterprise Ireland decides eligibility.
Here is what the law says. Article 4 of the EU AI Act has applied since 2 February 2025. National market surveillance authorities supervise and enforce it from 2 August 2026. Regulation (EU) 2026/1744 replaced its wording. The new wording asks providers and deployers of AI systems to "take measures to support the development of AI literacy of their staff and other persons dealing with the operation and use of AI systems on their behalf ...". The new wording adds: "This obligation does not require providers or deployers to guarantee any specific level of AI literacy of any individual." The European Commission says "no strict requirements or mandatory trainings are imposed". It also confirms that a company whose staff use ChatGPT for work is in scope.
We work remotely first and come on site by arrangement, anywhere in Ireland. The Quick-Start can be on site or remote.
If the plan leads to a build, look at Enterprise Ireland's Digital Process Innovation grant. It covers "50% of the eligible costs, up to a maximum grant of €150,000", including "Reasonable external consultancy costs". The scheme's Terms of Reference add: "The Committee may offer grant at a lower rate than the maxima above." The project "must involve some level of innovation or risk of failure and must not be focused on routine operational changes or responding to changes in regulation". Enterprise Ireland decides eligibility. Subcontracted or consultancy work can be no more than 60% of the total costs; above that, the project is ineligible. You cannot apply for less than €20,000 of eligible grant support, and you must apply before any work on the project starts. Our Digital Process Innovation guide sets out the other conditions.
Every engagement has a fixed scope and a fixed price.
Tell us about the problem. You leave with an honest answer on whether we can help, and where we would start.
See every package side by side, with what each one includes and what it costs, before you talk to anyone.
References (Checked 9 October 2026)