When to Hire an Artificial Intelligence Consultancy: 7 Signs It’s Time
By Pedro Sonda, dooop
It makes sense to hire an artificial intelligence consultancy when the company does not know where to start, has scattered and unprioritized AI initiatives, runs pilots that do not scale, has employees using AI without rules, faces pressure from leadership or the board without a structured response, lacks necessary internal skills, or needs an independent perspective before a major investment. Each sign calls for a different type of work: strategy, discovery, governance, training, or diagnosis.
Updated October 2026.
Transparency note: dooop is an AI consultancy. To balance this, cases where a consultancy is not necessary are covered in When Does a Company Not Need an AI Consultancy?.
The Context: Growing Adoption, Concentrated Results
In Brazil, the share of industries with 100 or more employees using AI rose from 16.9% in 2022 to 41.9% in 2024, according to IBGE (IBGE, 2025). Globally, McKinsey found that 88% of organizations use AI in some function, but only 37% attribute a positive impact on operational results to it (McKinsey, 2026).
Implication: Using AI is no longer a differentiator. What sets companies apart is turning AI use into results, and many companies stall at this transition.
dooop Framework: The 7 Signs
| # | Sign | How It Appears in Daily Life | Recommended Work |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | We don’t know where to start | Many ideas, no priorities; AI meetings without decisions | Strategy or discovery |
| 2 | Scattered initiatives | Each area tests a different tool, no common vision | Strategy and operating model |
| 3 | Pilots that don’t scale | Approved proofs of concept that never reach operation | Portfolio and criteria review |
| 4 | Use without rules | Employees using AI tools with company data, no policy | AI governance |
| 5 | Pressure without response | Board or CEO demands "an AI strategy" and no one has mandate to create it | Strategy with leadership |
| 6 | Lack of internal skills | No one in the company can evaluate vendors, risks, or use cases | Training and maturity diagnosis |
| 7 | Major investment imminent | Platform, hiring team, or relevant project about to be approved | Independent evaluation before deciding |
Sign 3 in Detail: Why Pilots Don’t Scale
BCG found that only 22% of companies progressed beyond proof of concept (BCG, 2024). Generally, pilots don’t scale because they were chosen without value criteria, the surrounding process did not change, or no one owns the outcome. These are decision and organizational issues, not technology problems.
Sign 6 in Detail: Lack of Skills Is the Fastest Growing Obstacle
Among Brazilian industries that have not adopted advanced digital technologies, the lack of qualified personnel as an obstacle rose from 46.4% to 60.6% between 2022 and 2024 (IBGE, 2025). When the problem is skills, the right work includes training, not just delivering a plan.
How Many Signs Justify Hiring?
| Situation | Recommendation |
|---|---|
| No signs | Probably not the time; continue experimenting with criteria |
| One isolated sign | A focused, short engagement (e.g., usage policy or discovery in one area) |
| Two to three signs | An integrated engagement, starting with diagnosis or strategy |
| Four or more | The company needs a structured AI agenda, including strategy, governance, and training |
This table is guidance, not a rule. The weight of each sign depends on company size, sector, and risk involved.
What to Do Now
- Count the signs with leadership: each director marks those they recognize. Divergences are already information.
- Choose the type of work based on the strongest sign, not the most visible vendor; see How to Choose an Artificial Intelligence Consultancy.
- Prepare a briefing before talking to vendors; see How to Prepare a Briefing to Hire an AI Consultancy.
If you want to discuss your company’s signs with dooop, contact details are at dooop.com.br/contact.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do medium-sized companies also need AI consultancy? It depends on the signs, not size. Medium companies usually have fewer internal specialists, making sign 6 more common.
Is it better to wait for AI regulation in Brazil before starting? Bill 2338/2023 is still under consideration, but the LGPD already applies to the use of personal data in AI. Waiting for the law does not eliminate risks from unregulated use happening today.
Does a consultancy solve the lack of internal skills? Not by itself. It can accelerate training and structure the path, but skills must remain with the team; see How to Choose a Partner for AI Transformation.
Also Read
About dooop
dooop is a consultancy based in Caxias do Sul (RS) that prepares leaders and organizations to transform artificial intelligence into business capability through strategy, governance, and training.