I am an AI consultant based in the Chicago area, and I build automations and tools for small businesses here. Most owners who call me have talked to someone else first and came away confused. So this guide covers what to ask, what it should cost, and how to tell a builder from a slide deck.

The short version

  • Hire someone who ships a working system, not a strategy document.
  • Expect $100 to $300 an hour for advice, or $150 to $2,000 for a fixed-price build.
  • Ask to see something they built and who owns it when the project ends.
  • Local matters less than you think for the build, and more than you think for the first meeting.

What an AI consultant in Chicago actually does

The title covers two different jobs. One is advice. Someone looks at your business, tells you where AI fits, and writes it down. The other is building. Someone connects the tools to your real systems and hands you something that runs.

You want the second one, or the first one from a person who can also do the second. Advice from someone who has never built the thing tends to describe software that does not exist. I lay out the honest version of when you need either in my guide on whether you need an AI consultant.

Does local actually matter?

The build itself is remote work. The tools live in the cloud, and I can wire up your invoicing from anywhere. So do not pay a premium just for a Chicago zip code.

Local does help in two places. The first meeting goes better in person, because you can show me the mess on your screen instead of describing it. And a consultant who knows the area knows the businesses. I work with owners in Chicago and the suburbs around it, including Naperville, Aurora, Joliet, and Lockport. That means I have seen the same scheduling and invoicing problems a dozen times.

What to ask before you hire

Five questions separate builders from talkers.

  • Can I see something you built? A live tool beats a case study. If everything is under NDA, that is a soft no.
  • Who owns it when we are done? You should own the accounts, the code, and the data. Walk away from anyone who keeps the keys.
  • What happens if the AI gets it wrong? A real builder has an answer about review steps and limits. Watch out for anyone who says it does not happen.
  • What is the fixed price? If they cannot scope it, they do not understand it yet.
  • Do I need you after launch? The honest answer is no for most builds. Ongoing retainers should be optional.

What it costs around Chicago

Prices here track the national market, because the work is remote. Hourly runs around $100 for an individual and $200 to $300 for a business or team. Fixed-price builds start around $150 for an audit and plan, and most small builds land under $2,000. I broke down real numbers in my guide on how much AI consulting costs.

Be careful with the low end. Someone charging $40 an hour is usually pasting your prompt into ChatGPT and billing you for it. You can do that yourself for free.

The red flags

I hear the same three complaints from owners who got burned. They paid for a strategy deck and got no working software. They signed a monthly retainer before anything was built. Or the consultant put the whole business on a tool the owner cannot log into.

Because of this, I price builds as one number for one finished thing. You approve the scope, I build it, you own it.

How to start

Pick the single task that eats the most of your week. Invoicing, scheduling, chasing leads, answering the same five questions. Price that one project and prove it works before you touch anything else. My guide on business tasks to automate with AI first covers which ones pay off fastest.

If you want a straight answer on your situation, book a session or request a quote and I will give you a real price within 24 hours.