How to spot a bad AI consultant (before you pay them $10k)

There were roughly four people in Brisbane calling themselves “AI consultants” two years ago. There are now hundreds. That's not a bad thing — more help in the market is generally good — but it means the average quality has dropped. A lot of folks have rebranded from being “digital marketers” or “Zapier specialists” or just “consultants” and started charging more for the same advice.

Here's how to filter. If you're paying somebody for an AI strategy, a tool stack recommendation, or implementation work, run them through these checks first.

Red flag 1 — They can't name specific tools

A good consultant should be able to recommend a specific tool name within five minutes of understanding your problem. Not a category (“you need a CRM”), but a specific product with a specific price (“Cliniko at $90/month — it integrates with HotDoc and you can keep your existing phone number”).

Bad consultants give you categories. Good ones give you shopping lists. The difference is that good ones have actually built things with those tools recently.

If you ask “what would you recommend for [my specific problem]?” and they say “there are several options to consider” with no actual names, that's a bad sign. Either they don't know, or they know but want to sell you a paid analysis first.

Red flag 2 — Every recommendation is something they sell or are partnered with

There's a quiet trick a lot of consultancies run: they only recommend the tools they have affiliate revenue with or reseller agreements for. The advice looks like advice but the incentives are pointing at their bottom line, not yours.

Ask them directly: “Do you take any commission, kickback, or referral fee on the tools you recommend?”

A direct “no, never” is the right answer. Anything that starts with “well, technically...” or “only on a few...” means you're being sold to, not advised.

You can also look up partnership badges on their site. If they're a “Make.com Partner” and they happen to recommend Make.com in every situation, that's not coincidence — it's the partnership working as designed.

Red flag 3 — They can't tell you what NOT to automate

A good consultant will tell you that some of your processes are fine the way they are. Manual is sometimes the right answer. AI is not always worth it.

If everything they hear gets the response “yes, we can automate that with AI”, they're either dishonest or inexperienced. Both are bad for you. Run.

A useful test: describe a process to them that you secretly think shouldn't be automated. See if they push back or if they nod along and quote you a price. The good ones will gently disagree with their own potential revenue.

Red flag 4 — Their portfolio is suspicious

There are three classes of bad portfolio:

1. No portfolio at all. They’ll cite “client confidentiality”. Sometimes that’s genuine, but if every project is confidential and nothing is illustrated, you’re probably one of their first.
2. Generic stock screenshots. Stock photos of dashboards that aren’t theirs. AI-generated “case studies”.
3. Big-logo claims they can’t actually back up. “We’ve worked with Westpac” — when pressed, it turns out they worked on a contract for a contractor of a contractor. Not lying technically, not honest in spirit.

A good portfolio shows specific, plausible-sized work with detail you could verify if you wanted to. They can describe what they actually built and why.

Red flag 5 — Pricing that's vague or shockingly high

Two patterns to watch for:

“We’ll scope it after our strategy phase.” Translation: we haven’t decided how much to charge you yet and we’ll figure it out once you’re committed. Bad consultancies use this because they want to extract maximum willingness-to-pay; good ones quote ranges upfront because they’ve done this kind of work before and know what it costs.

$25,000 quotes for things that should cost $2,500. AI consulting has a wide pricing variance because the work is unfamiliar to most buyers. Some consultancies exploit that. If a quote feels shockingly high, get a second opinion before signing.

The reverse is also a flag: $300 “AI audits” that are obviously cover for an upsell pitch. Either the work is real (and properly priced) or the work is a marketing funnel (and free or cheap). The middle ground often hides bad incentives.

Red flag 6 — They can’t do simple math on ROI

Ask: “If I implement what you’re recommending, how long does it take to pay back?”

A good consultant should be able to answer this concretely. “You’re currently spending about X hours on Y. We can drop that by Z%. At your hourly rate, that’s a savings of $W per month. The tools cost $V. Payback is W/V months — roughly 6 weeks.”

Bad consultants will say things like “the ROI is significant” or “most clients see results within three to six months” with no actual numbers attached. They’ve learned that vague answers feel safer than wrong ones. But concrete answers are what you actually need to make a decision.

Red flag 7 — They’re selling something they wouldn’t use themselves

Ask: “Do you use this on your own business?”

If a consultant recommends a CRM but doesn’t use one themselves, that’s suspicious. If they pitch an AI receptionist but their own website doesn’t have one, that’s suspicious.

The strongest signal a consultant’s recommendations are real is that they’ve put themselves through the same pain. They’ve installed the tool on their own business and have war stories about it.

A green flag to look for

Genuine consultants tell you which tools to use, why, with prices, and which problems aren’t worth solving. They give you a written deliverable you can hand to someone else if you decide they’re not for you. They have firm prices and direct answers.

The whole engagement should feel less like being sold to, and more like getting a second opinion from a smart friend who happens to do this for a living.

How we structure our own assessments

We charge $999 for an assessment up-front. The deliverable is a five-section written report you can take to anyone — us, your internal team, or a different implementation partner. We have no commercial relationship with any of the tools we recommend. If we don’t find at least three actionable opportunities, the fee is fully refundable.

That's the shape of what a good consulting relationship should look like, regardless of who you hire. If a competitor offers you something with similar structure, that’s great. If not, ask why not.