Owner resource · 11 October 2026
AI consultant or AI installer? How to decide which you need
Advice, coaching and installation are three different jobs. A comparison table and five deciding questions help you pick before you ask for quotes.
Affiliated editorial resource, not an independent recommendation. It is written by Dean Keating, who publishes this directory network and offers AI business coaching. It does not rank or review other providers. South East London Directory draws on six neighbourhood directories across three boroughs: Lewisham, Catford, Eltham, Sidcup, Bexleyheath and Crayford, covering Lewisham, Greenwich and Bexley. That is the extent of this site's local coverage; Bromley and Southwark are not covered yet.
Opens a draft message. You decide whether to send it; this does not book a session.
Three jobs that get called by one name
When an owner types "AI help" into a search box, three quite different services come up. They are worth separating before you ask anyone for a quote, because the right choice depends less on your size than on how much you want to be involved.
| Consultant | Coach | Installer | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What you get | Advice and a recommendation | Guidance while you build it yourself | A set-up built for you |
| Who does the work | You, after the advice | You, with guidance | The installer |
| Your time needed | Moderate | Highest | Lowest at the start |
| Understanding you end with | What to do | How it works and how to change it | How to operate it, if documented |
| Risk to watch | Advice that never gets used | Running out of time to do it | Depending on someone else's build |
How this publisher fits in
Dean Keating publishes this directory network from Horndean, Hampshire. His own offer is live remote AI business coaching, where the client implements. Installation is a separate service, scoped and quoted separately. That makes this resource affiliated: the publisher sells one of the options being described. It does not rank or review other providers.
Five questions that settle it
- Do you want to understand and be able to change the set-up yourself? If yes, lean towards coaching.
- Do you have a few hours a week to do the work? If no, installation fits better.
- Is the job tangled, with several systems and permissions? Installation or a consultant's plan first.
- Are you unsure what the problem is? Start with advice before buying a build.
- Who will look after it in six months? If the answer is nobody, choose the option that leaves the most documentation.
Fictional example: a three-person letting office
Fictional example. Names and messages are invented.
Imagine "Test Row Property", invented, with offices that field calls about properties in several places. Their manager has four hours a week free and a messy mix of inboxes.
Reading the five questions: she wants documentation more than understanding (question 1: no), has little time (question 2: no), and has several systems (question 3: yes). Installation looks better suited, preceded by a written scope. A different invented owner, a solo copywriter with time and curiosity, would answer the opposite way and lean towards coaching.
What to hand over before an installation
- A list of every account, who owns it and who administers it.
- Fifty or so past enquiries with names and numbers removed.
- A list of things the system must never do.
- The name of the person who approves the finished work.
Human checks, whichever route you take
- A person approves anything that reaches a customer, at least until a good run of drafts has been checked.
- You hold the logins at the end, or can recover them.
- Any claim made about a third-party product is checked against the product's own documentation.
Acceptance checklist
- The work matches the written scope line by line.
- It has been shown working on your own invented-but-realistic test messages.
- There is plain-English documentation.
- A tested switch-off exists.
- Someone named is responsible for it after handover.
Measuring
Whatever you choose, pick two measures you can count without the provider: for example minutes spent on repeat messages, and time to first reply. Record them for two weeks before and four weeks after. Where a number has not changed, ask why before spending more.
Next step
To ask about coaching or a separately scoped installation, call 07810 666662 or WhatsApp 07418 627304. No prices are listed here because terms are agreed directly. Dean's coaching page and installation guide are linked in the contact box below.
About Dean, and how to get in touch
Dean Keating publishes this directory network and is based in Horndean, Hampshire, with no south east London office. He offers live remote AI business coaching for UK owners, helping reduce routine admin and improve customer growth through Google and AI; the client does the implementing during coaching. Installation is different and is scoped and quoted separately. As Dean offers this service, treat this page as affiliated rather than independent.
Call 07810 666662 or message on WhatsApp 07418 627304. Terms are agreed directly and none are shown here.
AI business coach: Dean Keating · AI installation for small business (UK)
Questions people ask
- What is the difference between an AI coach and an AI installer?
- A coach guides you while you do the implementing yourself. An installer sets the system up for you. In Dean Keating's offer, coaching has the client implement, and installation is scoped and quoted separately.
- Does this page tell me which provider to choose?
- No. It helps you decide which type of help fits, and it ranks no providers. It is affiliated editorial from a publisher that offers coaching.
- Do I need to be in south east London to work with Dean?
- No. Dean is based in Horndean, Hampshire, and offers live remote help to UK owners.
From the neighbourhood directories
These sit on directories from the same publishing network, so they are not independent corroboration.