Paying for AI consulting carries two risks: a roadmap nobody can act on, or advice that never turns into anything. To help you find the best AI consulting firm for your business, this guide compares ten Australian AI consulting firms by what you actually hold at the end of the first engagement, what it costs, and whether the firm will build what it recommends.

Quick answer

There is no single best AI consulting firm for every Australian business. After comparing ten firms on what the first engagement delivers, published prices, independence, governance, training, whether they build what they recommend and client evidence, AppliedAgents is the pick for small and medium-sized businesses that want the audit and the build from the same team, tailored to how the business actually operates. AppliedAgents says it maps each step with the people who do the work and decides which steps stay as fixed rules and where AI helps (business-published, 3 November 2026). Hourglass AI and Sandlabs suit a short priced audit, Keatsian AI a fixed-price diagnostic, Osher Digital a paid onsite audit day, Clairea AI and Fruition Services a fuller roadmap, RUBIX data and governance, Edison AI priced training, and Mantel or the big consultancies enterprise programmes.

Disclosure: Jackson Dong, who wrote this guide, is the founder of AppliedAgents, one of the firms compared. No firm paid to be included. Emoney Home Loans is an AppliedAgents client, and Sylligence is a business Jackson Dong also founded.

The best AI consulting firms in Australia at a glance

An honest view of the best AI consulting firms in Australia on seven stated criteria. Each firm was checked against its own website on 3 November 2026; AppliedAgents’ row rests on its own statements. The table is grouped by what you hold at the end, not ranked, and shows GST as each firm does.

Ten Australian AI consulting firms and the big consultancies, from each firm’s own website, checked 3 November 2026
FirmBest forWhat you get at the endPublished price for the first engagementAlso builds it?Trade-off
Hourglass AI10 to 100 people with no in-house engineersRanked, costed roadmap with a spec per tool, in 7 to 14 days$2,500 flat, credited to a build; terms say fees exclude GSTYesInterviews on Zoom; no governance framework named
SandlabsSmall teams with an agent or product in mindOpportunity map, ROI estimates, tooling plan and fixed quote, in about a weekA$1,999 ex GST, credited to a buildYesClaude-first; named client result dates from 2024
Keatsian AIOwners and MDs of $5M to $100M businessesRanked map with cost now, cost to fix and payback per line, in 14 days$6,000 to $10,000, paid upfront; GST not statedYesNo named client result; homepage case results credited to Google Cloud’s library
AppliedAgentsSMEs that want to become AI-native, from audit to custom buildEach step marked as a fixed rule or an AI step, a scope and quote, then the systemFree audit: findings and a fixed quote for the first buildYes, same teamNo published upfront price, because each engagement is tailored to the business and costs vary with scope.
Osher DigitalSmall and mid-sized service businessesEight-section build-ready report, 7 to 10 days after a one-day onsite auditFrom $7,500 + GST; not credited to a buildYes, same peopleA paid full day; the build is quoted separately
Clairea AIEstablished SMEs unsure where to start, or stalledOpportunity report with a maturity assessment, plus a roadmap with costed next stepsNo standard price; capped range billed on hoursYes; specialist partners for cloud and securityNo dollar figure or duration published
Fruition ServicesMid-market, 50 to 5,000 staffScorecard, ranked register, costed 12-month roadmap and board presentation, in 4 weeksAUD $24,500 + GSTYes, same teamHighest first-engagement price here; monday.com, Atlassian and OpenAI partner
RUBIXOrganisations whose data or governance must be fixed firstSix-dimension scorecard, gap analysis, roadmap and business case in 2 to 4 weeksNone; fixed scope quoted after a free snapshotYesSays it suits enterprises; published result identified, not realised
Edison AISMEs with $500K to $10M revenue that want staff trainedSix audit deliverables in two weeks; training from a half-day to six weeksAudit quoted after a call; workshops from $4,500 plus GSTYesNo client example or ABN found on its site
MantelEnterprise programmesDiscovery then a pilot build; responsible AI assessmentsNoneYesNo published prices or durations
Deloitte, PwC, KPMG, EY, AccentureMulti-function, regulated or board-level workStrategy, governance frameworks and multi-year programmesNoneYesNo published prices

Before you pay anyone: the free options

Several government programmes do part of what a paid readiness assessment does (all checked 3 November 2026).

  • AI Adopt Centres. Free support for eligible organisations, including “AI adoption roadmaps aligned to your goals”. business.gov.au limits it to “SMEs in National Reconstruction Fund (NRF) priority sectors”, while a National AI Centre post (3 August 2026) lists SMEC AI “For: Businesses in all industries”.
  • Service NSW Small Business Advisory. Free, “up to 4 hours of business advice ... each financial year”, including “digital skills and artificial intelligence (AI)”.
  • Digital Solutions. “up to 5 hours of one-on-one digital advice ... for a small fee” for businesses with “fewer than 20 full-time (or equivalent) employees” and sole traders.
  • National AI Centre tools. The Get ready for AI check, the AI screening questions and free templates for process mapping, team readiness and an AI register. The adviser finder filters by “Artificial intelligence (AI)”.

How the AI consulting firms were compared

I used seven checks, each answerable from a firm’s own pages, and applied them to every firm, AppliedAgents included. I read each site on 3 November 2026 and quoted it. I did not hire anyone, so this is a desk review: the verdicts are my opinion of what each firm publishes, not a test of its work.

The seven criteria, what was checked, and why each matters
CriterionWhat was checkedWhy it matters
1. What the engagement deliversA named deliverable list, a duration, and cost or return estimates per itemThe National AI Centre lists often-missed costs, from “staff time for training” to “ongoing oversight” (Measure return on investment)
2. Published priceA dollar figure for the first paid step, with GST treatmentWithout one you cannot compare quotes
3. IndependenceA written statement that the firm may recommend an existing tool, a process change or no build, and any vendor partnerships“choose the simplest option that meets your needs” (Choose a solution, 22 April 2026)
4. Governance methodWhether governance work names a framework, and whichThe Guidance for AI Adoption (21 October 2025) sets out six essential practices and “evolves” the 2024 Voluntary AI Safety Standard
5. TrainingA staff training offer, and whether it is pricedThe same guidance says training “can build confidence, support AI adoption”
6. Builds what it recommendsWhether the same people stay for the build, and whether the first fee is credited to itQuestions to ask AI suppliers covers “Supplier responsibilities across the lifecycle (setup, run, fix, and exit)”
7. Client evidenceA named client with a measured result, and whether the figure is realised or only identifiedThe same checklist asks for “Evidence of testing, not just assurances”

What I could not check. Partner tiers are each firm’s own claim, I contacted no client, and ABNs appear only where the firm prints one. “Not found” means not found on the pages in Sources.

A short, priced audit and ranked roadmap

Three firms sell a one to two week first engagement at a published price, ending in ranked, costed opportunities. It suits an owner who can already name two or three slow processes.

Hourglass AI: a $2,500 audit with a spec for every recommendation

In their words. Hourglass AI’s audit page: “We interview your team, map every opportunity and hand you a ranked, costed AI roadmap in 7 to 14 days. Every client starts here.”

Verdict. My view: a complete, costed roadmap with a spec for every recommended tool at a flat published price, from a firm with a named, measured client result, if a remote process suits you.

Best fit for
companies of 10 to 100 people with no in-house engineers (its homepage says 20 to 100) that want a priced first step.
What you get
“Up to 10 × 30-minute Zoom interviews”, “The full Opportunity Matrix”, “A phased AI roadmap with the build order”, “An IPO STAR spec for every recommended tool” and “An ROI summary across all opportunities”.
Price or shape
“$2,500 flat, up to 10 interviews”; build within 30 days and “the full $2,500 comes off it”. Its terms say fees are “exclusive of GST unless stated otherwise”. Builds run “$5,000 to $25,000 each”.
Evidence reviewed
Its Heaps Normal case study reports “The mean time from application to approval fell from 40.5 hours to 15.2” (firm’s claim, undated). At Integr8, the owner “built his own automations from our audit”, with admin costs down 40%. Hourglass AI Pty Ltd, ABN 32 696 937 372.
Trade-off
Interviews are 30 minutes each on Zoom, with no onsite observation described, and no governance framework is named.
What to confirm
Ask how many interviews go to the people who do the work.

Sandlabs: the lowest published price for a written roadmap

In their words. Sandlabs’ pricing page: “Every AI build starts with a A$1,999 roadmap”. Its consulting page: “We’re Claude specialists, but we integrate with every major AI platform and framework.”

Verdict. My view: the cheapest written roadmap on this page, best when you already know roughly what you want built.

Best fit for
“15-100 person teams” that want a buildable spec and a fixed quote for one agent or product.
What you get
The Discovery & Roadmap is “About a week of focused work”: a workflow deep-dive, “Prioritised opportunity map”, “Cost & ROI estimates”, “System & tooling plan” and “Fixed-price quote”. “The roadmap and quote are yours. Build it with us, take it to anyone else, or sit on it.”
Price or shape
A$1,999, “All prices in AUD, ex-GST”, “credited to your build (within 30 days)”. A free audit and 30-minute call come first.
Evidence reviewed
Its HumbleTech case study (2024) reports “Commission processing automated 90%+”, with co-founder David McCleery quoted; the other projects on its work page are labelled “Internal project”. No street address or ABN found on the pages checked.
Trade-off
The roadmap is built as the first week of a Claude-first build, and the pages checked do not say it may recommend an existing tool or a process change instead. Its one named client result dates from 2024.
What to confirm
Ask for a named client more recent than HumbleTech.

Keatsian AI: a fixed-price diagnostic with a refund guarantee

In their words. Keatsian AI’s homepage: “You’re not buying advice. You’re buying a map. Fourteen days inside your operations.”

Verdict. My view: a clear fixed-price offer with an unusual refund guarantee for bigger owner-led businesses; ask for more evidence than its one anonymised example before paying.

Best fit for
“owners and MDs of $5M to $100M businesses” who want dollars on every line and will pay upfront.
What you get
The “Frontier Diagnostic”: “14 days embedded in your operations” and a ranked map with “What it costs you now. What it costs to fix. How long until it pays for itself.” Every task is classified “automate fully, assist the human, or leave alone”, and the map is yours even if you “build nothing”.
Price or shape
“STAGE 1 from $6,000”; its about page lists $6,000 to $10,000 AUD and says “Engagement is paid upfront.” GST is not mentioned. “If we don’t find $100K in addressable opportunity, you get every dollar back.”
Evidence reviewed
One anonymised example, a “~$40M revenue” business, shows “Total addressable: $222K/yr”, an identified figure. The case results further down its homepage are credited to “Google Cloud’s published enterprise case library”, not presented as Keatsian’s own work. Brisbane; ABN 84 575 562 496 in its terms.
Trade-off
No named client result, training offer or named governance framework on the pages checked.
What to confirm
Ask for a redacted Diagnostic and how “addressable opportunity” is calculated for the refund.

An in-person audit by the team that will build it

Two firms start with someone in the business, mapping the work with the people who do it, and offer to build what the audit recommends with the same team. Osher Digital’s report is also a standalone document you own; AppliedAgents scopes toward a build. Both ask for more of the owner’s time than a video interview does.

AppliedAgents: the audit and the build from one team

How AppliedAgents works. AppliedAgents says it audits the business with the people who do the work, in person where possible, to find the bottlenecks that cost time. It maps every step and decides which should stay as fixed rules and where AI helps, rather than putting AI on every step. The same team then builds, tests on the client’s real examples against agreed acceptance checks, trains the team and stays on as AI changes (see its AI training and ongoing support page), with senior engineers reviewing the work. For clients on ongoing support, it says it aims to respond within one hour, 24/7 (all business-published, 3 November 2026).

Verdict. My view, as its founder: the right call when the aim is a working system and you want the people who mapped the process to build it. If you need a standalone roadmap to take to market, choose a firm that sells one.

Best fit for
small and medium-sized businesses that want to become AI-native: an audit of where time goes, then custom systems from the same team that cut repetitive work and lift productivity.
What you get
Its AI implementation service page lists a first stage of “Consulting and scoping” that produces “A defined task, proposed approach, exclusions and quote”; the answer “may involve AI, an integration, custom software or a better use of something you already have.” Builds run inside the client’s existing apps, with OpenAI, Claude or Gemini models (business-published).
Price or shape
No published price; the homepage promises “a clear scope and price before work starts”. The first step is a free business audit: a strategy call, a mapping session for one process with the people who do the work, short written findings and a scope and fixed quote for the first build, with no commitment to go ahead.
Evidence reviewed
For Emoney Home Loans, a client, AppliedAgents rebuilt the website and added an AI assistant that passes a visitor’s needs to a broker; the project story publishes no performance figures. For Sylligence, a business Jackson Dong also founded, AppliedAgents built the platform and its support triage system; it reached 3,000+ users in two months around May 2026 (business-published; see the project story). AppliedAgents says the systems it builds and their data are hosted in an Australian cloud region, in the client’s own accounts, that clients own the code, prompts, workflows and data once the project is paid for, and that it agrees the model provider and region with each client, using Australian-region model endpoints where a client needs data kept onshore and the provider offers them; its data and AI page sets this out. Otherwise AI model providers may process prompts outside Australia; under APP 8 a business covered by the Privacy Act stays accountable for personal information sent overseas. Operator: Flourish Ventures Holdings Pty Ltd, ABN 81 643 999 642.
Trade-off
No published upfront price, because each engagement is tailored to the business and costs vary with scope. It also takes more of the owner’s time up front than a remote audit.
What to confirm
Ask for a comparable scope document and which model provider and region each AI step would use.

Osher Digital: a paid day onsite, then a report another developer could build from

In their words. Osher Digital’s audit page: “A paid, one-day onsite study of how your business really delivers its work, and a build-ready report you own.”

Verdict. My view: the most complete published consulting offer for a small business on this page: a price with GST, a named deliverable list, governance mapped to the national guidance and the same people for the build.

Best fit for
small and mid-sized service businesses (“Most of our clients are small and mid-sized Australian service businesses”, Brisbane page) that want a day of observation first.
What you get
“The report lands seven to ten days after the onsite day. Eight sections”, from current state to off-the-shelf alternatives: “What if an off-the-shelf tool would do the job? Then the report says so.” Its AI consultants page says “The people who write the strategy stay for the build.” Its free governance kit (30 October 2026) is “mapped to the six practices in the Guidance for AI Adoption”.
Price or shape
“The audit starts at $7,500 + GST. The exact fee is fixed and quoted upfront.” A build “is scoped and quoted separately”. Its AI consultants page says an audit “runs to a few thousand dollars”, so budget from the audit page.
Evidence reviewed
A property inspection case study reports an audit “projecting savings of over 8,000 admin hours and $250,000 in annual costs”: identified, not realised. Its about page quotes named clients, including LSM Tree Advice (“My copy and paste days have been reduced by around 80%”). Unlimited 4 Pty Ltd, ABN 23 672 498 805; Eagle Street, Brisbane.
Trade-off
A paid full day from $7,500 + GST, with no credit toward a build. Its case-study saving is identified, not realised.
What to confirm
Ask for a redacted report and how the “Bottlenecks, quantified” figures are measured.

A fuller strategy and roadmap

Two firms sell a longer engagement ending in a maturity assessment and a costed roadmap, suited to a business with several departments or a stalled AI effort.

Clairea AI: the plainest buy, build or change-the-process statement

In their words. Clairea AI’s homepage: “No vendor ties: we recommend buying, building or changing the process on merit, and when building is the answer, we build it.”

Verdict. My view: the right fit if you want a firm that may recommend training or a process change instead of a build, and can accept a capped range instead of a price.

Best fit for
“Established small and mid-sized Australian businesses that know AI could help but aren’t sure where to start, or have started and stalled.”
What you get
Map produces “Two documents”: an AI Opportunity Report that “includes the AI Maturity Assessment across leadership, people, process, data, technology and governance”, and an AI Roadmap ending in “A delivery plan with the scope, the measures and costed next steps agreed.” It also offers “A plain-English AI policy” and workshops.
Price or shape
“We don’t publish a standard price for the AI Opportunity Review, because the hours depend on your business.” Map is quoted “as a capped range, billed on the hours we work, so you never pay past the top of the range.” GST is not mentioned.
Evidence reviewed
Named, undated testimonials, such as GreenCorp Property Services: “We’ve just won our first tender with an AI-assisted submission”. Camberwell, Melbourne; ABN 28 326 869 656.
Trade-off
No dollar figure or duration is published, the testimonials are qualitative, and no governance framework is named.
What to confirm
Ask for the capped range in writing and a roadmap that recommended buying or changing the process.

Fruition Services: a board-ready roadmap at a mid-market price

In their words. Fruition’s homepage: “Platform-agnostic AI and workflow consultancy. Process before platform.”

Verdict. My view: the most formal roadmap product here, written for a board; for a 15-person business it is a lot of document for the money.

Best fit for
mid-market organisations (“Typically organisations with 50 to 5,000 staff”) that want a costed roadmap for a board.
What you get
The 4-week AI Capability Assessment: “Process map”, “Readiness scorecard // 8 dimensions”, “Ranked opportunity register”, “Costed 12-month roadmap // three phases” and “Executive presentation // board-ready”, with “Vendor-agnostic recommendations”. Governance work covers an AI usage policy and APRA CPS 230 and 234.
Price or shape
The assessment page states “AUD $24,500 + GST”. Governance “engagements start at AUD $18,000 for a structured initial phase”. Other pages give lower “from” figures for consulting (A$18,000 on its packages page, AUD $15,000 on its awards page), so confirm which applies.
Evidence reviewed
Its assessment page shows anonymised outcomes, such as “Professional Services · UK ... 38% Operations overhead reduction in 9 months”. It claims OpenAI Select Partner, monday.com Platinum and Atlassian Platinum status. York Street, Sydney; ABN 12 667 454 006.
Trade-off
The highest first-engagement price here, from a platform partner, and no named AI client outcome on the pages checked.
What to confirm
Ask for a redacted roadmap, and which recommended tools Fruition earns partner revenue from.

Governance, policy and risk

Governance work should produce a policy, a register, approval points and a named method. Much of it is free: the National AI Centre publishes an AI policy guide and template and an AI register template, and Osher Digital’s kit is free. A paid engagement should add tailoring.

RUBIX: data foundations and a governance framework before the AI

In their words. RUBIX: “Vendor-independent. We are not reselling a platform, so our recommendations are driven by your outcome, not our margin.”

Verdict. My view: the strongest governance and data offer among the specialists, and the sensible choice when the records are the problem.

Best fit for
organisations whose messy records would stall any AI project. Its own guide says it is “best suited to enterprises that want to fix their data foundations before scaling AI”.
What you get
An AI readiness assessment of 2 to 4 weeks with “four concrete deliverables”: a scorecard (“A clear score across all six dimensions”), a gap analysis, a roadmap and a business case “that ties each initiative to expected outcomes and cost”. An AI governance framework that “aligns organisations to the Voluntary AI Safety Standard and Australia’s AI Ethics Principles”.
Price or shape
None: “a fixed-scope engagement priced to the number of business units, systems and use cases involved ... Contact RUBIX for an estimate”. A free 90-second snapshot comes first.
Evidence reviewed
Its NDIS provider case study reports a roadmap “that quantified around $645K of annual impact, inside eight weeks”, which the page says is “not a realised saving”. No training offer found: “Engineers mentor as they deliver.”
Trade-off
No price; its governance names the 2024 standard rather than the 2025 guidance, and its published result is identified, not realised.
What to confirm
Ask what the data foundation stage would cost before any AI work starts.

Training and capability

Sometimes the right first purchase is training. Hourglass AI, Clairea AI and Mantel offer it; Edison AI prices a full catalogue. The National AI Centre has “partnered with TAFE NSW to offer free courses on AI” (business.gov.au), and its team readiness activity takes 60 minutes.

Edison AI: a priced training menu and a two-week audit

In their words. Edison AI’s audit page promises an answer “in two weeks, not ninety pages”.

Verdict. My view: the clearest priced training menu on this page and a sensible audit shape for a small business; ask for a client reference before paying.

Best fit for
“Australian small and medium businesses with revenue between $500K and $10M” that want staff trained as well as audited.
What you get
Six audit deliverables, from an “AI Opportunity Map” to an “Executive Readout”, prioritised “Based on value, complexity, risk, and speed to impact”, and yours to act on “with us, in-house, or with another partner”. If AI is not the answer: “We’ll tell you ... Saying no is part of the deliverable.” Training runs from a half-day workshop to a six-week programme.
Price or shape
The audit is “A fixed scope. We quote after a free 20-minute readiness call”. Workshops are “$4,500 to $12,000 plus GST per workshop”, executive coaching $8,000 to $22,000 plus GST and the adoption programme $35,000 to $90,000 plus GST.
Evidence reviewed
No client example was found on the pages checked; the use-case gallery uses placeholder names such as “Acme Co”. Surry Hills, Sydney; no ABN is printed.
Trade-off
A quote-only audit, and no client example or legal entity on the pages checked.
What to confirm
Ask for the legal entity and ABN, and for one client you can speak to.

Large programmes

When AI must work across several business units and formal procurement, engagements run for months.

Mantel: enterprise AI with the strongest measured result on this page

In their words. Mantel calls itself “Australia’s largest independent AI consultancy” and “Australia’s largest, privately-owned consultancy”.

Verdict. My view: the strongest measured client result on this page, for organisations with an enterprise budget.

Best fit for
enterprise programmes in banking, health, insurance, the public sector and retail.
What you get
“start with a Discovery and Pilot build”, the pilot being “a working cross-section of the AI solution in your production environment.” Its responsible AI service offers “an AI Ethics Assessment, an AI Risk Matrix and an AI Ethics Framework”.
Price or shape
No prices or durations published for paid work.
Evidence reviewed
Its HBF case study (undated on the page) reports a “95% reduction in cost-per-claim” and “94%+ field extraction accuracy achieved”, with HBF’s GM Member Operations quoted (firm’s claim). It lists AWS, Google Cloud, Microsoft, OpenAI and Anthropic among its partners. Mantel Group Pty Ltd, ABN 38 622 268 240.
Trade-off
No prices or durations, and case studies at enterprise scale.
What to confirm
Ask what a discovery phase costs and how long it runs.

Deloitte, PwC, KPMG, EY and Accenture

Each publishes AI strategy and responsible AI services and no prices (checked 3 November 2026). Deloitte goes “From defining your AI strategy to building bespoke AI-driven solutions”. KPMG cites “ISO 42001 AI Management System Certification”, which certifies KPMG’s own AI management system, not a client deliverable. PwC offers a “free Responsible AI Diagnostic”. EY links its roadmap to “the EU AI Act requirements”. Accenture offers responsible AI work from a global page. RUBIX’s shortlist post says it is “not the right call” for “a national, multi-function transformation programme”, a fair line for every specialist here.

What a good AI readiness assessment or roadmap should contain

Use this to judge a proposal before you pay and the finished document after. Each item comes from a National AI Centre tool or from what the firms above publish.

What a good AI readiness assessment or roadmap should contain

1. A fixed price and timeline in writing before work starts, with GST shown.
2. A named list of what you will receive: a readiness scorecard, a process map, a ranked list of opportunities, a roadmap and a readout.
3. A readiness check across named areas, such as business goals, people, oversight, data and processes.
4. At least one process mapped step by step with the people who do the work: the action, who does it, the inputs, the outputs and the time it takes.
5. For each step, a clear call on what stays a fixed rule, what uses a tool you already own, and where AI actually helps, including options that need no new build.
6. A cost, a benefit and a payback estimate for every opportunity, including training time, testing, data preparation, governance and oversight.
7. A screening of each proposed AI use for risk and the human control it needs.
8. Governance named against a recognised method, ideally the six essential practices in the Guidance for AI Adoption: who is accountable, which uses need approval, an AI policy and an AI register.
9. Where your data will go and which AI providers would process it, for every recommended tool.
10. A training and change plan: who needs what skills, and how staff will be consulted.
11. A clear line between savings “identified” and results already achieved, and how success will be measured after go-live.
12. Ownership: the document is yours, written so another provider or your own team could deliver it.

Questions to ask an AI consulting firm before you pay

Give every shortlisted firm the same brief: one process, the problem, your tools and the result you want. Then compare their answers.

Questions to ask before paying for AI strategy

1. What exactly will I hold at the end, and can I see a redacted example from a past client?
2. What is the fixed price, including GST, and what would change it?
3. Who will spend time with the people who do the work, in person or on a call, and for how long?
4. Which steps in my process would you leave as fixed rules, and where exactly would AI make a judgement?
5. If an off-the-shelf tool or a process change is the better answer, will the roadmap say so? Show me one where it did.
6. Which governance method do you follow, and how does it map to the six essential practices in the Guidance for AI Adoption?
7. Of the results on your website, which are realised and which were identified in a roadmap?
8. Do you earn partner revenue from any tool you might recommend?
9. If you also build, is the first fee credited to a build, and can I take the roadmap to someone else?
10. What is your legal entity and ABN?

Red flags:
A roadmap that recommends AI for every step, without saying which steps should stay as simple rules.
A paid roadmap with no written list of deliverables.
“Identified” or “addressable” savings presented as results.
Governance described without naming what it follows.
A roadmap written so that only its author could deliver it.

What AI consulting services cost in Australia, from published prices only

Five of the ten firms publish a price for their first paid engagement: Sandlabs A$1,999 ex GST, Hourglass AI $2,500 (ex GST per its terms), Keatsian AI $6,000 to $10,000 (GST not stated), Osher Digital from $7,500 + GST and Fruition Services AUD $24,500 + GST. Edison AI quotes its audit after a call but prices its training. Clairea AI quotes a capped range, RUBIX a fixed scope and AppliedAgents a scope and price after a free call. Mantel and the big consultancies publish nothing. For what the build costs, see the AI implementation cost guide.

Consulting firm or implementation agency?

Every firm here also builds, so the question is the first purchase. If you want a document you can take anywhere, buy a roadmap whose deliverables are listed and which you own. If you want a working system and know which process hurts, start with a builder that maps first. The comparison of AI implementation agencies in Australia covers builders on data handling, testing, ownership and support, and the guide to how to choose an AI agency in Australia has the fuller checklist.

AI consulting firms by city

Firms listed print an address in the city or say they are based there. AppliedAgents works across Australia.

Sydney. Fruition Services, Edison AI, RUBIX and Mantel print Sydney addresses; Hourglass AI says Sydney and Melbourne; Flipside AI calls itself a “Sydney-based AI consultancy”.

Melbourne. Clairea AI, RUBIX and Mantel print Melbourne addresses; Sandlabs and Hourglass AI say Melbourne. 13Labs describes itself as a “Melbourne-based studio with in-person and remote options”.

Brisbane. Osher Digital, RUBIX and Mantel print Brisbane addresses (Osher’s audit day covers “anywhere in South East Queensland”); Keatsian AI says it is based in Brisbane.

Useful facts for anyone buying AI consulting services

  • The national guidance has six practices. The Guidance for AI Adoption (21 October 2025) sets out: decide who is accountable, understand impacts and plan accordingly, measure and manage risks, share essential information, test and monitor, and maintain human control. On the pages checked, only Osher Digital maps its governance material to them by name.
  • New privacy policy rules from 10 December 2026. Businesses covered by the Privacy Act must say in their privacy policy when a computer program makes or informs decisions that significantly affect individuals (OAIC, 30 September 2026).

Which is the best AI consulting firm for you?

The best AI consulting firm for a small business is usually not the biggest one, and the firms that publish the most are not the biggest. Small firms such as Osher Digital, Hourglass AI and Sandlabs put a price and a deliverable list on the page; the big consultancies publish no prices. For a small business, that should steer you toward the specialists.

Every roadmap here is sold by a firm that would like to build it, mine included, so a “vendor-neutral” badge is worth less than a written sentence saying the firm will recommend an existing tool, a process change or nothing. Clairea AI, Osher Digital and Edison AI say that in writing, and Keatsian AI classifies every task as automate, assist or leave alone. Ask everyone else to, and ask me.

Identified savings are not savings. On the pages checked, named clients with a measured result appear for Mantel (HBF), Hourglass AI (Heaps Normal), Sandlabs (HumbleTech, 2024; its other projects are labelled “Internal project”) and Osher Digital (a client testimonial reporting about 80% less copy-and-paste work). AppliedAgents publishes a project story for Sylligence (3,000+ users in two months), a business its founder also started. Treat any figure from a roadmap as a forecast until the system has run.

I founded AppliedAgents on the view that an audit should be done with the people who do the work, and should decide which steps stay as fixed rules before any AI is proposed. Its price is not on the site, for the reason in its trade-off, so judge it on the scope document and hold it to the same checklist as everyone else.

The practical order for a small business, in my view: use the free options first, pay a small fixed fee for a short audit from a firm that publishes what it delivers, and refuse any roadmap that does not say which steps stay as simple rules.

Corrections

Corrections: none yet. If something here is wrong or out of date, tell AppliedAgents through the enquiry form at /audit.html. Next review: early December 2026.

Sources

All checked 3 November 2026. Where a firm’s site writes a range with a dash, it is written here as “to”.

Prices, team sizes, terms and services change; confirm them directly with the firm before relying on them.

Written by AppliedAgents

Practical thinking on AI, automation and the work behind a business.