Pillar / The AI colleague
The AI colleague: in between a consultant and a new hire
An AI consultant delivers advice and leaves. An in-house AI hire is expensive, scarce and hard to keep. The mAIxs AI colleague sits in between. For one fixed monthly fee we build, extend and maintain AI solutions for your business, continuously.
The model
How an AI colleague works
No abstract process, just four practical points.
- 01
Fixed fee, fixed point of contact
One fixed monthly fee, all-in. One fixed point of contact from our team. We know your business, your tools and your people. No ticket roulette, no rotating junior consultants.
- 02
We build, extend and maintain
Every month we take on processes that pay off. Building, connecting, training and adjusting. If something doesn't work as agreed, we fix it. No scope-creep arguments.
- 03
Measurable every month
At the end of each month you see what we built, how much your team uses it and what it delivers. No black box.
- 04
You can stop
You cancel with one month's notice. No annual contract, no exit fee. Not working out the way you hoped? Then you stop. We hand over what we built, cleanly.
Comparison
AI consultant, in-house hire or AI colleague
Three routes to AI in your business. What’s the difference in time, money and risk?
| AI consultant | In-house AI hire | mAIxs AI colleague | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What you get | A report, advice, sometimes a PoC | One person on the payroll | Working AI solutions your team actually uses |
| Lead time | 3 to 6 months to a report | 3 to 12 months to hire and onboard | 2 to 4 weeks to a first solution |
| Monthly cost | €8K to €25K per month for the duration of the project | €7K to €11K per month all-in | Fixed monthly fee, ongoing. Lower than a junior employee. |
| Risk on departure | Knowledge walks out the door, no one maintains the thing | Months of delay, hiring all over again | None, we keep maintaining it or hand it over cleanly |
| Maintenance & development | Separate engagement, new quote | Depends on one person | Included in the subscription |
| Cancellable | Project-bound, often with clauses | Permanent contract or a difficult dismissal process | Monthly, no penalty |
Is it a fit?
Who an AI subscription works for, and who it doesn’t
An honest overview. Not for everyone, and that’s fine.
- +
You have 5 to 100 employees and want to structurally win back hours.
- +
You've run an AI pilot before that ended up in a drawer, and this time you want it actually working.
- +
You don't want to open a vacancy for an AI specialist you then can't engage or keep.
- +
You don't have an IT department that can build and maintain AI models itself.
- x
You only want a one-off advisory report without building anything. Other firms are better at that.
- x
You expect a full-time in-house AI engineer for the monthly fee. That's not what the subscription is.
Personal
Why we set it up this way
We come from a world where AI engagements meant: six months of advice, a report, a slide deck and then silence. The business owner was left with the implementation. Often without budget and without anyone who could make it work.
When we founded mAIxs we wanted to flip that. No advisory hours, but working solutions. No tickets, but a fixed point of contact. No annual contract, but cancellable monthly. We call that the AI colleague.
Doesn’t work? Then we don’t invoice the first sprint and you can stop the subscription after a month. That’s what we want to be measured on.
Frequently asked questions
The AI colleague, answered briefly
What's the difference between an AI consultant and an AI colleague?+
An AI consultant delivers advice and stops there. An mAIxs AI colleague builds alongside you, maintains and stays involved. You get ongoing implementation instead of a one-off report, and we stand behind the working result ourselves. Ask for current rates during an introduction.
AI consultant or a new hire, which fits better?+
Almost never an AI consultant for an SME, because the return is in implementation, not advice. An in-house AI hire only works if you have plenty of work and can engage and keep that person. For most SMEs an AI subscription is cheaper, faster and lower-risk than both alternatives.
What does an AI subscription cost for a business?+
The mAIxs subscription is a fixed all-in monthly fee. It covers building, maintenance, integration and training. Cancellable monthly, no long contracts. For comparison: an AI consultant typically charges €8K to €25K per month for the duration of a project, an in-house AI hire costs €7K to €11K per month all-in. The mAIxs fee sits well below that. Ask for current rates during an introduction.
How many processes does an AI colleague take on per month?+
Depending on complexity, one to three new processes per month, plus ongoing maintenance and tuning of what's already running. We balance building new with keeping existing solutions working.
Does the subscription work if we already have an AI tool?+
Yes. We build on or integrate with the tools you already use. If you already have a chatbot, an AI email tool or a copilot licence, we make them productive instead of adding yet another platform.
Is my data safe with an AI subscription?+
We work GDPR-compliant and use European hosting where possible. Sensitive data is encrypted and we never share customer data between clients. For the exact privacy and security approach we have a DPIA and a data processing agreement ready.
Not sure the subscription fits yet?
Start with the AI Sprint
Want to experience how it works first? The AI Sprint delivers one working AI solution in 2 to 4 weeks for a fixed price of €2,500. No subscription, no obligation, just a result.
More about the AI SprintReady for an AI colleague on your team?
Get in touch or book a short introduction. No pitch, just an honest read on whether the subscription fits your situation.