What to expect from an AI diagnostic
Two weeks, fixed price, and an honest answer on whether AI is worth doing. Here's what actually happens.
By Appoly Intelligence
Most companies know AI matters. Few know where to start. The diagnostic is the shortest path out of that: two weeks, fixed price, no six-figure consulting engagement.
What it is
Two weeks. Fixed price. We come in, talk to your people, look at your processes, and write you a one-page report: where AI would help, where it wouldn’t, and what the numbers look like.
Week one: discovery
We interview your team. Not just leadership. The people actually doing the work. We want to know:
- What takes too long?
- What gets done twice?
- What relies on one person’s knowledge?
- What’s already been tried?
We also look at your data. Not a full audit. Just enough to know whether the inputs exist for an AI system to work with.
Week two: analysis and write-up
We map what we found against what’s actually possible with current AI tools. Not what’s theoretically possible. What works today, in production, for businesses like yours.
The output is a one-page report. A prioritised opportunity list, ranked by impact and feasibility. A yes/no recommendation on the top three. Rough costs, timelines, and ROI for each. And if nothing’s worth doing, we say so.
The refund
About one in five diagnostics ends with us recommending the client not automate, or to fix something else first. If that’s the case, we refund the second week. We’d rather lose the build than sell you something that won’t work.
What it’s not
Not a hundred-slide deck. Not a vendor pitch in disguise. Not a commitment to a twelve-month transformation.
What it is: a clear answer on whether AI fits your business, and what to do next if it does. The diagnostic page has the full structure — week by week, what we cover, who’s in the room.
Who it’s for
Owner-managed or family-owned businesses, from SMEs to enterprise. A leadership team that can see AI matters but doesn’t have a clear view of what. No appetite for steering committees or eighteen-month programmes.
If you’re not sure yet whether you’re ready, the readiness checklist is the cheaper way to find out. Fourteen questions to work through before any vendor is in the room.
If that sounds like you, get in touch.