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The Three Implementation Tiers

Three ways to add AI to a process - very different cost, speed and risk.

Higher rung = more risk, cost & customisation ↑

Custom R&D
Building bespoke on your private data. Where the failure rate lives.
Retrofit
Switching on AI features in software you already own. sweet spot
Toolkit
Off-the-shelf tools - turning a key. Lowest risk, monthly billing.
Not to be confused with

Not the Three Ways of Working: the Tiers say how you source AI; the Ways say how you work with it once it's there.

When to use  Deciding how to build, once you know what to build. Most first pilots are Tier 1.

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topic: choosing & roi type: model

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