What does an AI strategy consultant do?

An AI strategy consultant works out where AI will pay back in a business, in what order to tackle the opportunities, and what each one needs in data, systems and oversight. New Odyssey also builds the first workflow, so the recommendations are tested in practice.

How is AI strategy consulting different from AI consulting?

AI consulting is the broader term and often includes building. AI strategy consulting usually means the planning stage: choosing and ordering the opportunities. New Odyssey does both under one engagement model.

How long does an AI strategy engagement take?

It depends on how many processes are in scope. We scope each stage before it starts and begin with a single process, so the first decision does not wait on a company-wide study.

How much does AI strategy consulting cost?

New Odyssey does not publish prices. The first step is a Process Assessment for a fixed fee on one process, and that fee is credited in full against a Sprint if you go ahead.

Which countries do you work in?

The United States and the United Kingdom. New Odyssey is headquartered in London with US operations in Dallas, Texas.

AI consultancy

AI Strategy Consulting That Ends in a Working Agent

Last updated November 13, 2026

The short answer

New Odyssey provides AI strategy consulting for mid-market companies in the US and UK. An AI strategy from us is a short, ordered list of workflows where AI will pay back, each with its current cost, its feasibility and its risks, and a recommendation on whether to use a packaged agent, a custom agent, plain automation or nothing at all. We then build the first workflow, so the strategy is tested against real systems and real data instead of staying in a slide deck.

What AI strategy consulting should produce

A useful AI strategy answers three questions: where AI belongs in the business, in what order, and what to build first. It should be specific enough that a team can start work the week after it is delivered.

A list of candidate workflows, each with a named owner.
A baseline for each: volume, handling time, error rate and what the work costs today.
A feasibility and risk view: which systems are involved, what data the work needs, and where a person must approve.
A recommendation for each workflow: packaged agent, custom agent, conventional automation, a process fix, or leave it alone.
An order of work, starting with the workflow that has the clearest cost and the fewest dependencies.

How our AI strategy work runs

Each stage is fixed in scope before it starts and is a decision point: you only continue if the previous stage justified it. We do not publish prices; each stage is quoted once the scope is agreed.

Stage	What happens	What you have at the end
Process Assessment	We map one process as it actually runs, measure what it costs today, and assess feasibility and risk.	A baseline, a recommended approach and a clear yes or no on building it
Automation Sprint	We redesign and build the workflow on your systems, then measure it against the baseline.	A working workflow and evidence on whether it is worth scaling
Production Implementation	We harden the validated workflow for real users, real data, security and monitoring.	An agent running in production
Managed Automation	We keep it reliable as systems, rules and volumes change.	Someone accountable after launch

AI strategy consulting compared with a strategy-only engagement

	Strategy-only engagement	New Odyssey
Main deliverable	A roadmap or maturity report	A ranked list of workflows, then the first one built
Evidence	Interviews and workshops	Measured volumes, handling times and error rates
Who builds	A separate team or vendor, later	The same team that did the assessment
First commitment	Often a multi-month program	One process, fixed fee

When you need an AI strategy consultant, and when you do not

You do if several teams are trialling different AI tools and nobody can say what the trials have returned.
You do if leadership has asked for an AI plan and the options have not been costed.
You do if pilots have run but nothing has reached a real process.
You may not if you already know which workflow hurts most. In that case, skip the strategy and assess that one workflow.

Proof

The AI help desk we built for the Talking News Federation is in production: each inbound email becomes a ticket, is classified and routed, and has a reply drafted, and a person approves every reply. It is an example of the principle behind our strategy work: pick one workflow with a clear owner, build it, and keep people in charge of the decisions.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does an AI strategy consultant do?: An AI strategy consultant works out where AI will pay back in a business, in what order to tackle the opportunities, and what each one needs in data, systems and oversight. New Odyssey also builds the first workflow, so the recommendations are tested in practice.
How is AI strategy consulting different from AI consulting?: AI consulting is the broader term and often includes building. AI strategy consulting usually means the planning stage: choosing and ordering the opportunities. New Odyssey does both under one engagement model.
How long does an AI strategy engagement take?: It depends on how many processes are in scope. We scope each stage before it starts and begin with a single process, so the first decision does not wait on a company-wide study.
How much does AI strategy consulting cost?: New Odyssey does not publish prices. The first step is a Process Assessment for a fixed fee on one process, and that fee is credited in full against a Sprint if you go ahead.
Which countries do you work in?: The United States and the United Kingdom. New Odyssey is headquartered in London with US operations in Dallas, Texas.

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