Understand AI before choosing a solution.
Practical answers for decisions: what tools do, what they cannot guarantee and what a prototype should test.
ChatGPT, a RAG assistant or an AI agent: how to choose?
Start with the task, not the technology’s name. A guide with examples from IAfluence’s documented prototypes.
Read the guideDefinitions to help you decide
What is an AI consultant?
An AI consultant helps define a need, assess tools and data, choose an approach and test its suitability. At IAfluence, advice may precede training, a proof of concept or development of a solution.
What is RAG?
RAG retrieves passages from a collection and supplies them to a language model to prepare an answer. It helps when answers depend on your documents, but sources and answer quality must be checked.
What is an AI agent?
An agent organises steps and calls tools to perform a task. Permissions, allowed actions and approval points must be defined; autonomy does not guarantee reliability.
When should you use RAG?
When an answer needs to rely on an identified document collection and retrieving relevant passages has practical value. A small collection can sometimes be supplied directly to the model; RAG adds a retrieval step that needs evaluation.
How much does an AI proof of concept cost?
There is no single price. Cost depends on scope, data, access and integrations. The first discussion defines what must be demonstrated before a quote is prepared.
How long does an AI prototype take to build?
There is no universal timeframe. A prototype for one task with accessible data differs from a tool connected to several systems. IAfluence defines scope, access requirements, tests and the schedule before committing to a deadline.
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