For a stalled, failing or half-built AI project
AI project rescue services for small and mid-sized businesses with a stalled AI build
AI project rescue is our service for small and mid-sized businesses whose AI project stalled, keeps failing or never reached daily use. We find out why, finish what is worth keeping and put it live on one workflow. If the honest answer is to stop, we say so and charge no fee.
You paid for an AI project, and the work it was meant to take over is still done by hand. It makes no difference whether an agency, a freelancer or your own team built it. We read what was built and run it on real requests from your business. You get a written diagnosis that says why it stalled and what is worth keeping. Then we finish the missing parts, put the system live on one workflow and hand it to a named person on your team.
from $21k · fixed scope · 6 to 8 weeks
What is an AI project rescue?
An AI project rescue is a service for small and mid-sized businesses whose AI project or pilot has stalled, runs over budget or never reached daily use. An outside team works out why it stopped and what is worth keeping. Then it finishes the system and puts it into daily use, or tells you to stop. It is also called AI project recovery.
Not ready to hire anyone? The checks you can run yourself, and the order to run them in, are in how to rescue a failing AI project.
Why is your AI project stalled or stuck in pilot?
AI projects rarely fail loudly. The demo impressed everyone, and then the tool met real requests and real data. The person who understood it left, and nobody finished the part that makes it reliable enough to trust.
The model can be the part that works. What is missing then sits around it. There is no named owner and no check on the output before a customer sees it. Nobody agreed on a number that says whether the tool is doing its job.
Meanwhile you have paid the invoices and the momentum is gone. Starting over feels wasteful. Pushing on feels risky when nobody can say why it stuck.
The causes, and how to check for them before a build, are in our pre-start checklist on why AI projects fail.
What we build
The parts the diagnosis finds missing. What already works stays.
Connections to your real data in place of the demo's sample set
A review step, so a person checks the output before a customer sees it
A fallback for the requests the AI gets wrong or cannot answer
One agreed number that shows whether the system is doing its job
Handover notes and training for the person who will own it
How it works
What happens in an AI project rescue?
It starts with a call
You tell us what the project was meant to do and where it stopped. We say whether a rescue looks plausible. The scope and the price are fixed before any work starts.
We assess what was built
We go through the code and the setup alongside the original brief. Then we run the system on real requests from your business, because a demo set hides the problems. We check which data it ran on and which source it should have used.
Fix or stop, in writing
The diagnosis is a written account of why the project stalled, with a call on each part: keep, rebuild or drop. If the right answer is to stop, it says so and gives the reasons. In that case there is no fee.
We salvage and rebuild
The parts that work stay. We rebuild the parts that do not and finish the stretch nobody got to, such as the review step and the fallback for wrong answers.
It goes into production on one workflow
The system starts on one workflow or one team, on real work, with a person reviewing its output. Once it holds up there, we widen it.
We hand it over
One named person on your team learns how to run it and what to do when it gets something wrong. The notes and the code go to you.
Before
A document-processing pilot impressed in the demo. Then the person who built it moved on, and it sat in testing for months while the documents were still keyed in by hand.
After
The diagnosis finds that the extraction works and the review step was never built. That step gets built, one document type goes live first, and a named person on the team runs it.
An illustration of a common pattern, not a client result.
Shipped, or you don't pay the final invoice. We agree on a go-live date up front. If it isn't live by then, the final invoice is waived.
What are the signs an AI project needs rescuing?
One of these on its own is a rough patch. Several together mean the project has stalled and will not restart by itself.
- It has been "in testing" for months, and nobody can name the date it goes live.
- The work it was meant to take over is still done by hand.
- It handles the demo examples and breaks on real requests.
- The person who built it has left, and nobody else can change it.
- The budget is spent, and the estimate to finish keeps growing.
- Staff tried it, stopped trusting the answers and went back to the old way without saying so.
- Nobody can say whether it works, because no measure was agreed.
A vendor who still sends progress reports while nothing reaches daily use counts as a sign too.
To test the pilot yourself before you call anyone, run the seven-gate go-live checklist for AI pilots.
What do you get at the end of an AI project rescue?
You should be able to check each of these yourself on the last day.
- A written diagnosis. It says in plain language why the project stalled and which parts were kept, rebuilt or dropped.
- A system in daily use. It handles real requests in your business, with a person reviewing its output where the work calls for that.
- An owner who can run it. One named person on your team knows what it costs to run each month and what to do when it gets something wrong.
- The code and the documentation. Both are yours, and nothing depends on us staying.
- One number to judge it by. We agree on it with you before the build starts, so after go-live you can see whether the rescue paid off.
The guarantee on this page applies. We agree on a go-live date up front, and if the system is not live by then, the final invoice is waived.
When do we recommend stopping instead of a rescue?
Sometimes the right answer is to stop. A rescue that hides this only adds to the bill. The written diagnosis recommends stopping, or a clean rebuild, in these cases.
- The time the job saves is worth less than the system costs to run.
- The data the project depends on does not exist, or nobody can say which version of it is right.
- A standard product now does the job for less than finishing a custom build.
- The original vendor holds the code and will not release it.
- The foundation is wrong for the job, and repairing it would cost more than building one narrow slice again from scratch.
If the advice is to stop, you get the reasons in writing and there is no fee.
A clean rebuild of one use case is a Build Sprint, from $16k at a fixed scope, in 4 to 6 weeks. If a single workflow is all that is still worth doing, that is an Automation Starter, from $4,500 at a fixed scope.
To run these checks yourself before you decide, follow our guide to rescuing a failing AI project.
More questions about AI project rescue
What does an AI project rescue service include?
It has five parts, in this order. First comes a call, where we say whether a rescue looks plausible and fix the scope and the price. Then comes the diagnosis. We read the code, run the system on real requests and write down why it stalled, with a call on each part: keep, rebuild or drop. Next we rebuild what is missing, such as connections to your real data, a review step and a fallback for wrong answers. The system then goes live on one workflow, with a person reviewing its output. Last, we hand it to a named person on your team, along with the code and the notes. If the diagnosis says stop, the work ends there and there is no fee.
How long does an AI project rescue take?
Project Rescue is planned at 6 to 8 weeks at a fixed scope. The diagnosis comes first, and you see its findings before the rebuilding starts. We agree on the go-live date with you up front.
What access do you need to assess a stalled AI project?
For the diagnosis we need read access to the code and to the accounts the system runs on, such as hosting and the AI model provider. A sample of real requests or documents from your business matters as much, because demo data hides the problems. The original brief or statement of work helps if you have it. We also need time with someone who is meant to use the system. It makes no difference whether a freelancer, an agency or your own team built it.
What if the original vendor is still under contract?
Check two things in the contract first: who owns the code, and whether you may give a third party access to it. If you own the code or have the right to change it, we can assess it while the vendor contract still runs. If the vendor holds the code and will not release it, there is little to rescue and a rebuild is the realistic route. We are not lawyers, so a dispute over the contract belongs with yours.
How much does an AI project rescue cost?
Project Rescue starts from $21k at a fixed scope. If the diagnosis ends with the advice to stop, there is no fee. If it ends with a rebuild, the price depends on the project. We scope the work on a call first, and the price is fixed before work starts. Our guarantee covers it. If the system is not live by the agreed date, you do not pay the final invoice.
Do you take on every stalled AI project?
No. Some should be stopped, for example when the job was never worth automating or the data it depends on does not exist. We tell you that plainly and explain why, before you spend more. If the diagnosis ends with the advice to stop, there is no fee. Sometimes the honest answer is a clean rebuild of one narrow part, and we show you what that would cost.
What happens after the handover?
The system, the code and the notes are yours, and the named person on your team runs it day to day. Nothing depends on us staying. If you want to take it to more workflows or teams, that is a new scope, agreed before we start. If you want us on call to keep building, that is Ongoing AI Consulting, which runs month to month.
Is AI project recovery the same as an AI project rescue?
Yes. Both names describe one job. An outside team takes a failed or stalled AI project, finds out what went wrong, and either gets it working or recommends stopping. People also search for AI product rescue or AI development rescue. We call ours Project Rescue.
Do we need a rescue service, or can we fix it ourselves?
You may not need us. If the person who built it is still with you and the gaps are ordinary ones, such as no owner or no review step, start there. Hire outside help when nobody on the team can change the code, or when a restart has already gone nowhere.
Find out if your AI project can be rescued
Book a call and tell us what was built and where it stopped. We'll tell you whether a rescue looks worth it and what it would take, before you spend anything more.