How to choose an AI consultant (a plain guide for Long Island owners and sales leaders)

Choosing an AI consultant comes down to one thing: do they understand your business before they recommend tools? This guide from Matt Malley, founder of The AI Guy from Long Island, covers what a good AI consultant does first, the questions worth asking, the red flags and how to compare options. It's written for Long Island owners and sales leaders, but most of it applies anywhere.

What should a good AI consultant do before recommending any tools?

A good AI consultant learns how your business works before suggesting anything. That means asking where leads come from, how fast they hear back, who does what and where things get stuck. In Matt Malley's view, anyone who opens with a list of tools before asking about your business is selling tools, not solving a problem. The map comes first.

What questions should you ask an AI consultant?

Ask five things. What problem would you fix first and why? Whose accounts will the tools live in? What happens when something breaks? How will I know it's working and what will you show me each month? What's the price, in writing, before anything starts? A good AI consultant answers all five plainly. Vague answers on ownership or price are worth noticing.

What are the red flags when hiring an AI consultant?

Watch for guaranteed rankings in ChatGPT or Google, statistics with no source, tools set up in the consultant's accounts instead of yours and pricing that only appears after you've committed. Google says there are no special optimizations needed to appear in its AI Overviews or AI Mode. So anyone promising a secret AI ranking trick is worth questioning.

Should you pick a local AI consultant or a remote one?

It depends on what you need. A local AI consultant on Long Island can meet you in person, see how your office runs and show up when something needs a face-to-face fix. A remote consultant can work well for sales teams that already run on video. In Matt Malley's view, how well they understand your business matters more than the zip code.

If you're on Long Island, here's how Matt works as an AI consultant on Long Island. Sales teams anywhere in the US can see AI help for sales teams, including AI training for sales teams. Weighing an agency too? Read Matt's take on consultant vs agency.

How much should an AI consultant cost?

Prices vary a lot, so the useful question is what's included. Look for a clear setup price, a clear monthly price if there's ongoing work and a written list of what each covers. The AI Guy publishes its first paid step: after a free 15-minute call, the $999 AI Business Assessment maps your systems and processes and shows where AI can take over. Implementation is quoted on the call and put in writing before anything starts. In Matt Malley's view, you shouldn't commit to anything without that.

How can you check what AI tools say about a consultant?

Ask the AI tools yourself and write down what you see. Type the same question a customer would, like "best AI consultant on Long Island," into ChatGPT, Google and a couple of others. Note the date, the tool, whether you were logged in and the names that came back. Answers change over time, so one search is a snapshot, not a ranking.

What should you have at the end of the first month?

You should be able to see something working, not just a plan. For most businesses that's a specific fix, like new leads getting a fast reply, plus a clear report on what happened. In Matt Malley's view, if a month in you can't point to one thing that's better, ask the consultant directly what's going on and what changes next.

For examples of first fixes, see AI automation for Long Island small businesses.

FAQ

What does an AI consultant do?

An AI consultant helps a business figure out where AI actually fits, then sets it up and keeps it working. For a small business or sales office, that often means faster replies to new leads, less manual follow-up and cleaner records. The AI Guy from Long Island starts by mapping how leads and work move through the business before recommending anything.

Is an AI consultant worth it for a small business?

It can be, if the consultant fixes a specific problem you can see. In Matt Malley's view, the best first project for most small businesses is speed to lead, because a lead who doesn't hear back often goes elsewhere. If a consultant can't name a specific first fix for your business, keep looking or start with a free call.

Should an AI consultant guarantee results?

Be careful with guarantees. Nobody outside companies like OpenAI and Google can promise how their AI tools will rank or recommend a business. Google says there are no special optimizations needed to appear in AI Overviews. A consultant can promise what they'll set up, when and what they'll report each month. That's a better thing to hold them to.

How do I know if an AI consultant is legit?

Look for a real name, a real location, a clear price and a willingness to talk before you pay. Ask what they'd fix first and whose accounts the tools will live in. Matt Malley, founder of The AI Guy from Long Island, offers a free 15-minute call for exactly that reason: you should know who you're dealing with first.

Related: AI consultant on Long Island · AI automation for Long Island small businesses · AI help for sales teams

Sources

• Google Search Central, "AI features and your website" (official documentation). https://developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/ai-features