# What Does an AI Consultant Do? Costs for Irish Small Businesses > What an AI consultant does for an Irish small business and what it costs: AI visibility, automation, Claude setup and websites. Fionn Murphy, Waterford. No day rate. Source: https://fmops.ie/ai-consultant Last updated: 2026-09-27 Most small businesses don't need an AI strategy deck. They need the phone answered, the quotes written, the admin gone and their name to come up when a customer asks ChatGPT who to call. ## What an AI consultant actually does For a small business in Ireland, the work falls into four jobs. I do all four myself, so you deal with the person doing the work. - Gets you recommended by AI assistants. When someone asks ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude or Google's AI Overview for the best business like yours in your town, I find out why the AI picks who it picks and fix it. That is [AI search visibility](https://fmops.ie/ai-visibility). - Automates the admin. Quotes, follow-ups, bookings, invoices and reminders, joined up with the tools you already pay for using Make, Zapier and AI. That is [business automation](https://fmops.ie/automation). - Sets up AI for your team, safely. Claude or ChatGPT on a business plan, connected to your email and files, with the right data processing agreement for GDPR and staff trained on their own live work. That is [AI for business](https://fmops.ie/claude-for-business). - Builds the website it all points to. A fast small-business site that brings in enquiries and gives the AI assistants clear facts to quote. That is [websites](https://fmops.ie/websites). Not sure which one you need? That is what the free call is for. Often the honest answer is one of them, not all four. ## What an AI consultant costs in Ireland Prices are fixed and written down before any work starts. There is no consultancy day rate and no hourly billing. - Free to start: a [one-minute AI check](https://fmops.ie/ai-check) or a 15-minute call. - AI search visibility: retainers from €750 a month, month to month, capped scope. - Business automation: from €500 per project, fixed quote in writing. Three to five workflows are typically €1,500 to €3,000. - Claude or ChatGPT for your team: setup from €1,750 one-off, then support from €600 a month. Licences are paid to the provider directly. - Websites: €500, €750 or €1,000 one-off, with an optional care plan from €50 a month. The Local Enterprise Office Grow Digital Voucher covers 50% of eligible digital projects, up to €5,000. Eligibility is the LEO's call, so check with them first. Read [how the Grow Digital Voucher works for AI projects](https://fmops.ie/blog/grow-digital-voucher-ai). The full list is on the [FAQ page](https://fmops.ie/faq). ## Where I work FMOps is based in Waterford. I work on-site across the South East, including Waterford city and county, Kilkenny, Wexford, Carlow and Tipperary, and remotely with businesses everywhere else in Ireland, including Dublin, Cork, Limerick and Galway. Training sessions run on-site where that is practical; AI visibility, automation and website work runs the same wherever you are. If you want local detail, see [AI visibility for Waterford businesses](https://fmops.ie/ai-visibility-waterford) and [web design in Waterford](https://fmops.ie/waterford-web-design). ## Using AI safely: GDPR and the EU AI Act The fastest way for a small business to get into trouble with AI is staff pasting client data into personal free accounts. Part of every setup is choosing a business plan with a data processing agreement, writing down what data goes near AI and what never does, and keeping a person approving anything that sends, files or pays. Read [whether Claude is GDPR compliant in Ireland](https://fmops.ie/blog/is-claude-gdpr-compliant-ireland) and [what the EU AI Act means for Irish SMEs](https://fmops.ie/blog/eu-ai-act-irish-smes). ## How to choose an AI consultant Whoever you hire, ask these before you sign anything. - Will you show me one thing running on my own work before I pay? - Is the price fixed and in writing, or billed by the day? - Who does the work: you, or someone I haven't met? - Which plan will my staff use, and is there a data processing agreement? - Do I own what you build if we stop working together? - What would you tell me not to do? My answers: yes, fixed, me, a business plan with a DPA, yes, and plenty. More on this in [do I need a Claude consultant](https://fmops.ie/blog/do-i-need-a-claude-consultant). ## Who this is not for Large companies wanting an enterprise AI strategy, custom model training or a data science team. There are bigger firms in Dublin built for that, and I will say so on the call rather than take the work. FMOps is for small businesses that want AI doing useful work this month. ## FAQs - For a small business, an AI consultant works out which jobs AI can genuinely take over, sets the tools up safely, and trains the team to use them. At FMOps that means four things: getting the business recommended by ChatGPT, Gemini and Google's AI answers, automating admin such as quotes and follow-ups, setting up Claude or ChatGPT for the team with the right GDPR paperwork, and building the website it all points to. - At FMOps there is no day rate. AI search visibility retainers start from €750 a month, automation projects from €500 with a fixed quote, Claude or ChatGPT team setup from €1,750 one-off then from €600 a month, and websites at €500, €750 or €1,000 one-off. Every engagement starts with a free one-minute check or a 15-minute call. - Often, yes. Signing up for ChatGPT or Claude is easy and I will tell you if that is all you need. What takes the time is picking the jobs worth handing over, connecting your email and files safely, getting the data processing agreement right, and training staff so the tools are still in use in month three. - Yes. FMOps is based in Waterford and works on-site across the South East, including Kilkenny, Wexford, Carlow and Tipperary, and remotely with businesses anywhere in Ireland, including Dublin, Cork, Limerick and Galway. - It may. The Local Enterprise Office Grow Digital Voucher covers 50% of eligible digital projects, up to €5,000. Eligibility and the final decision rest with your Local Enterprise Office, so check with them first. I can supply a written scope and quote for your application. - No. FMOps at fmops.ie is a one-person AI consultancy in Waterford, Ireland, run by Fionn Murphy. It is unrelated to FMOps in the machine-learning sense of Foundation Model Operations. - Large companies that want an enterprise AI strategy, custom model training or a data science team. I will say so on the call rather than take the work. ## Book a free 30-minute call Tell me what eats your week. I will tell you which part AI can take off your hands, what it costs, and whether it is worth it for you. [Book a free 30-minute call →](https://fmops.ie/#book) Prefer email? [fionn@fmops.ie](mailto:fionn@fmops.ie) Not sure yet? Run the free [one-minute AI check](https://fmops.ie/ai-check) to see whether ChatGPT recommends your business. A short call, no pitch. I will tell you if it is not a fit. --- FMOps - Waterford, Ireland - fionn@fmops.ie - +353 86 107 2373 - All pages: https://fmops.ie/llms.txt - Full text: https://fmops.ie/llms-full.txt - Sitemap: https://fmops.ie/sitemap.xml - Contact: https://fmops.ie/contact - Developer resources: https://fmops.ie/developers