Hiring an AI consultant is a meaningful commitment, and the best way to choose well is to ask the right questions — and watch how readily they’re answered. Here’s the essential list, and how dgm answers them. (dgm implements osFoundry, a separate company’s platform — we are not osFoundry.)

The questions that matter

  1. How do you decide what to build first? (Good answer: from your workflows and ROI, not a product demo.)
  2. What does it cost, end to end? (Good answer: a transparent, all-in figure — not “it depends, let’s talk.”)
  3. Do we stay model- and vendor-flexible? (Good answer: yes — no lock-in.)
  4. How do you prove value before we scale? (Good answer: a pilot with clear metrics.)
  5. Will our team be able to own the result? (Good answer: yes — training and ownership are part of it.)
  6. Where does our data go? (Good answer: under your control, not used to train their models.)
  7. What’s included vs billed separately? (Good answer: a clear line between the two.)
  8. What would you NOT recommend AI for? (Good answer: a real, specific list — honesty about limits.)

Why these questions work

They cut through the pitch to the things that actually determine value and risk. And the way they’re answered is itself a signal: good firms are direct and transparent; evasiveness — especially on pricing, lock-in, or limits — is a red flag (see how to choose an AI consulting firm).

The most revealing one

“What would you not recommend AI for?” tells you the most. A consultant willing to name real limits is advising; one who claims AI can do everything is selling. The honest answer builds far more trust than the expansive one.

How dgm answers them

dgm answers all of these plainly: it starts from your workflows (via a $399 assessment), prices transparently ($399 + $3,999/month, no per-seat fees), keeps you model-agnostic, proves value in phases, aims for your team to own the system, keeps data under your control, and will tell you when AI isn’t the right answer. If you’d rather explore the platform yourself first, go straight to osFoundry; if a firm that answers straight is what you want, that’s where dgm comes in.