Failed AI Pilot Autopsy
A consultant is hired after a company's AI pilot has already stalled — the chatbot nobody uses, the automation project that got quietly shelved — to run a structured 1-2 week autopsy: interview the pilot's stakeholders and end users, map the actual workflow the pilot was meant to touch, and diagnose why it never reached production (usually a workflow-fit problem, not a model-quality problem, per MIT's 2025 research on 300 enterprise AI deployments). The deliverable isn't a generic report; it's a single recommended workflow — the one narrow, high-frequency, rules-based task where AI would demonstrably pay back within a quarter — plus a scoped rebuild proposal. If the client greenlights it, the consultant (often with a technical subcontractor) rebuilds only that one workflow using off-the-shelf tools (Zapier/Make, a narrow GPT-based tool, or a vendor product) rather than reviving the original ambitious pilot. Engagements run as two priced phases: a fixed-fee diagnostic ($4,000-$7,500, 1-2 weeks) and, if the client proceeds, a fixed-fee narrow rebuild ($6,000-$15,000, 3-5 weeks) — mirroring how AI-readiness-assessment and process-improvement consultants already price comparable work.
The 95%-of-pilots-fail stat is real and widely known among executives, which makes this an easy story to sell — but it's a project-based, trust-dependent sale into companies already burned once, so both the sales cycle and delivery risk run higher than a templated service.
Price the diagnostic and the rebuild as two separate signed contracts, not one bundled quote — clients who got burned by an open-ended AI pilot are far more willing to pay $4,000-$7,500 for a bounded 'tell us why it failed and what to do instead' engagement than to commit $15,000+ upfront to 'fix the AI project.' The diagnostic-first structure also creates a natural upsell moment once trust is established, and roughly a third of engagements should be walk-aways — telling a client 'nothing here pays back, don't rebuild anything' is the credibility move that generates referrals.
Suits you if
- ✓You can credibly run structured stakeholder interviews and translate vague 'the AI thing didn't work' complaints into a specific, prioritized workflow diagnosis
- ✓You have (or can subcontract) enough technical fluency to scope and rebuild a narrow automation using off-the-shelf AI/workflow tools
- ✓You're comfortable selling a project-based engagement with a real sales cycle, not an instant transactional purchase
Skip it if
- ✕You want a templated, low-touch service — every autopsy is a different failed pilot with different politics and stakeholders
- ✕You can't credibly tell a client 'nothing here is worth rebuilding' and walk away from the upsell — that honesty is the entire trust mechanism this business runs on
- ✕You don't have (or can't quickly hire) hands-on technical chops to actually rebuild the recommended workflow, not just diagnose it
Skills: You need structured-interviewing and workflow-mapping skills (borrowed from business analysis / process consulting), enough technical literacy to judge whether a workflow is genuinely AI-shaped or was just hype-driven, and either your own or a subcontracted ability to build with tools like Zapier/Make, Copilot Studio, or a narrow custom GPT wrapper.
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