PIPELINEGuide
AI knowledge base: comparing providers — what really matters
Quotes for AI knowledge bases are hard to compare because everyone writes something different into them. The questions that reveal the differences — and the warning signs.
When comparing AI knowledge base providers, the listed price matters less than what happens next: who maintains the system after go-live, and what a later adjustment costs. That's the difference that only shows after a few months.
01 — Criteria
How quotes differ
- What exactly is included. Two quotes with the same total can cover completely different deliverables. Ask for scope as a list, not as running text.
- Who delivers what. Content, images, data, access — if it's not specified, it becomes a point of conflict later.
- What operation costs. Calculated over three years, including licenses, hosting, and support.
- What happens if you want to switch. Do you get access, data, and documentation? The answer to this question says more about a provider than any reference.
- Who actually does the work. With small providers this matters: who sits in the meeting, and who then does it.
02 — Questions
Questions you should ask
- What happens if the project becomes more expensive than estimated — who bears that?
- Who owns data, access, and, if developed, the source code?
- What does operation cost in the second and third year?
- What does the documentation we receive at the end look like?
- How would you measure whether the project was successful?
- Is there a case in which you would advise us against this?
03 — Warning signs
When to be skeptical
- Guaranteed results. Anyone promising top Google ranking or a specific revenue increase is selling something they can't deliver.
- No pushback. A provider who thinks every project is a good idea has either not listened or is only selling.
- Time pressure. Limited-time discounts on project prices are a sales tool, not an offer.
- Unclear ownership. Anyone who won't clearly say who owns data and access doesn't have your interests at heart.
- No contact with technical expertise. If only sales sits in the first meeting, that's where misunderstandings arise.
04 — Scope
What's included
- Indexing your repositories: file servers, SharePoint, Google Drive, Confluence, email archives
- Answers with source references and jump to the original document
- Permissions model — who can see what also applies to search
- Detection of outdated documents to prevent obsolete answers
- Analytics on what questions are asked and where documentation is missing
- Hosting either in the EU cloud or on your own infrastructure
05 — Questions
Frequently asked questions
What is RAG?
The abbreviation stands for retrieval-augmented generation. Instead of having the language model answer from memory, your documents are searched first, and only the passages found are used to generate the answer. That's why the answer has a source.
Our documents are a mess. Will it still work?
To a certain extent, yes — the system handles different formats and structures. What it cannot do is resolve conflicting information. If three versions of a price list are in circulation, you need to clarify which one applies first.
How do we detect outdated answers?
Through date references and marking of documents flagged as obsolete. Analytics also show which sources are used most often — those you maintain first.
How long does setup take with a large document base?
It depends less on volume than on condition: well-structured repositories with few duplicates are ready in a few weeks, grown repositories with many old versions need a cleanup round first.
Does this have to run in the cloud?
No. For sensitive areas, we use models that run entirely on your own hardware. That costs more to set up and slightly reduces answer quality, but no document leaves the building.
Can we roll this out to more departments step by step?
Yes, that's the usual approach. Start with one department, learn from their questions and results, then connect the next one — rather than releasing everything at once.
Will everyone see everything?
No. The permissions from your existing systems are carried over. If someone isn't allowed to open a folder today, they won't get answers from it either.
06 — Next
Related pages
- AI Knowledge Base — Overview
- AI knowledge base — practical examples
- AI Knowledge Base — Requirements
- AI knowledge base — measuring success
- AI knowledge base — contract and ownership
- AI Knowledge Base — Team and Acceptance
- AI Knowledge Base — Small Businesses
- AI knowledge base — process
- AI automation
- Document processing with AI
- AI chatbot
- All guides
Next step
We'll look at your starting position.
Tell us what's eating up time today. That becomes an assessment with effort and benefit — and only then an offer.