SuperpositionAnswers
AI training or AI consultancy for a consumer brand
What is the difference between AI training and AI consultancy?
In plain terms, training builds AI skills within your team. Consultancy brings in a specialist to set the AI strategy, unblock or solve a problem, design a solution or deliver a defined piece of work.
Ask what you need to leave with: skills your team can use, a defined piece of work, or both. Check who will own and maintain the work afterwards.
Some trainers also advise, and some consultancies also run workshops.
When is AI training the better fit?
Training is the better fit when the work stays with your team and the gap is knowing how to use AI well on it. In a consumer brand, that covers most of the day-to-day: writing product copy and marketplace listings, drafting customer service replies, building a trade or retailer deck, chasing suppliers by email, pulling together the weekly trading report, or summarising sales and stock data before a demand planning meeting.
It also fits when use across the team is uneven. A few people may already use ChatGPT or Claude every day while others have barely started. Learning together on real tasks spreads what works, and gives everyone the same rules, such as which customer or commercial data can go into which tool.
And it fits when people need a new way of working: a more ambitious view of what’s possible, a real understanding of what the tools can do, and frameworks for applying them to their own role so they get more done, and better. People leave able to spot an off-brand reply, a trading-report figure that does not match the source, or a task where AI is not the right tool.
When is AI consultancy the better fit?
Consultancy is the better fit when you need expertise your team doesn’t have, or a piece of work done faster than the team could learn to do it. For example:
- Setting the strategy. Leaders want an outside view on where AI fits in the business, what to prioritise and where to invest.
- Diagnosing a problem. A tool you pay for isn’t being used, or a process breaks down somewhere between your systems and nobody can see why.
- Designing or building a system. Connecting AI to your e-commerce platform, ERP or customer service software, or automating a workflow that runs across several of them.
- Complex data work. Cleaning and structuring product, customer or sales data so that AI tools can use it reliably.
Before you agree the work, ask the specialist to set out what you will get, how it will be handed over, who will own and maintain it afterwards, and what your team needs to know to use it.
Can a consumer brand use both?
Yes. Often companies start with one before moving on to the other, or do both in parallel. A leadership team might get outside help to set the strategy, then train the teams it points to. Or a trained team might find a job that needs a specialist, such as connecting AI to the order system. Because they have already tried AI on their own work, they can write a clearer brief, with examples of what they have tried and where they need help.
You do not have to buy both. Training on its own is enough for some teams. A specialist for one job is enough for others, and a course would be the wrong spend.
If you are not sure, a short conversation is usually enough to work out which you need. What AI training costs in the UK is a separate question from what a consultancy project costs. They are not the same budget line.
How Superposition does this
We run AI training, workshops and hands-on support for UK consumer brands.
Our main offer is a hands-on training programme, run in person at your office, for your whole company, selected teams or part of a team. It starts with interviews with your staff about their work, tools and blockers. Then comes a whole-company session, followed by workshops built around your team’s real work, in groups of 10 to 15. Follow-ups after that help people keep using what they have learned. The programme typically costs £5,000 to £15,000 + VAT, depending on team size. We agree the scope and price on a free call.
It is led by Laura Rosenberger, former COO of Naked Wines UK and co-founder of the drinks brand Laylo. London-based, other UK locations on request.
Leaders who want a plan before they train the team can book an AI strategy day. That is a half day or a full day for the leadership team, priced from £1,995 + VAT. It uses the Superposition7 areas to help leaders agree their approach and next steps.
Many teams take the training forward themselves. If you want help with a next step, we agree it separately:
- Workflow coaching. Your people build and test, with our guidance.
- Leadership advice. Talk through priorities, tools and investment decisions.
- Opportunity deep-dive. Work out what it would take to put one idea into practice.
- Specialist introductions. Partners matched to your needs. You agree the work and terms with them directly.
Book a free 30-minute chat with Laura if you want to sort out which of these, if any, you actually need.
Frequently asked questions
We already use an AI consultant. Do we still need training?
It depends on what the consultant is doing. If they are setting your strategy or building a system, your team will still need to use AI in the work that carries on afterwards: product copy, customer service replies, the weekly trading report. Training is how people build that skill. If the consultant's work doesn't change what your team does day to day, training may not be the priority yet.
Is an AI strategy day a form of consultancy?
It overlaps with strategy consultancy, but it runs as a workshop. Superposition's AI strategy day is half a day or a full day at your office, for the leadership team. Leaders use the Superposition7 areas to agree their approach to AI and a plan for what to do next, rather than an outside adviser writing the strategy for them. It is priced from £1,995 + VAT. The team training programme is separate to any leadership strategy work. Training typically costs £5,000 to £15,000 + VAT, depending on the size of your team.
What if we only need one workflow improved?
Ask whether the gap is a skill your people could learn or expertise they don't have. Drafting customer service replies faster, or turning supplier emails into an order update, is something your own team can usually learn to do with AI, so workflow coaching or training fits. Pulling orders from your e-commerce platform into a stock report automatically means connecting systems, which usually needs a specialist. Sometimes the honest answer is a better process, or a feature in a tool you already pay for.
Will training leave us with someone to call afterwards?
The training is designed so your team can carry the work. Many teams take it forward themselves. If you want help with a next step, we agree it separately: workflow coaching, where your people build and test with guidance; leadership advice on priorities, tools and investment; an opportunity deep-dive on what one idea would take; or introductions to specialists. You agree any specialist's work and terms with them directly.
How do we decide which one to start with?
Start with the gap. If leaders don't yet agree where AI fits, start with strategy, either with outside help or on a strategy day. If people are already trying AI and getting mixed results, training on their real work is a good place to start. If there is one specific job your team doesn't have the skills for, bring in a specialist for that job. The [free scorecard](/scorecard/) is a quick way to see which of the seven areas need attention before you spend.
Where should your team focus on AI in 2027?
Score your business across seven areas with the free Superposition7 scorecard and see where you are strong, where the gaps are and what good looks like.