Fair questions, straight answers.
Fifty questions we actually get asked, answered in plain English — each answer short enough to be quoted whole.
Getting started
What does a Discovery Consultation involve?
Thirty minutes, free, on a call. You describe where time and money leak; we tell you honestly whether AI or automation can help, what it would involve, and what a sensible first step looks like. No pitch deck.
What is the AI Assessment?
A fixed-price study of your processes. We map the manual work, quantify its cost, and deliver a prioritised roadmap with a business case for each opportunity — yours to keep, whoever you build with.
How much does it cost to get started?
The consultation is free. The assessment is fixed-price, agreed before we start. Project pricing follows from the assessment, so you never buy an open-ended engagement.
How quickly can we see results?
Pilots target one high-return process, typically deliverable in weeks, with results measured against the assessment forecast.
Do we need to be “ready for AI”?
No. Most useful automation starts with ordinary process problems. The readiness assessment shows what, if anything, needs fixing first — often it’s less than feared.
Can we start small?
Yes — we insist on it. Pilot one process, measure it, then decide about scale with evidence.
What if the assessment finds nothing worth automating?
We say so. An honest “not yet” costs us a project and earns us a referral; that trade always works in our favour.
Do you work with companies our size?
We serve UK SMEs and mid-market organisations — typically those with real process volume but no army of internal developers.
Services & technology
What’s the difference between AI automation and AI agents?
Automation removes repetitive flows between systems (documents, approvals, reporting). Agents are assistants that answer, search and act — for customers or your team. Most clients eventually use both.
Which AI platforms do you use?
The right one per job. We work across major providers (OpenAI, Anthropic, Microsoft, Google) and design so you can switch — no single-vendor lock-in by architecture.
Can you work with our existing systems?
Yes — that’s the point. Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, mainstream CRMs, ERPs and accounting platforms, plus custom APIs for anything unusual.
Do you build custom software too?
Yes: portals, dashboards, internal tools and SaaS-grade applications — and we modernise legacy systems where replacement is too risky.
What happens to the automations if we stop working with you?
They’re yours. You get documentation, credentials, and training. Managed service is optional value, not a hostage arrangement.
Do you replace our IT team or supplier?
No — we work alongside them. Integration and clear documentation usually make their lives easier.
Will automation break when our processes change?
Processes change; that’s why we offer managed service and quarterly reviews. Everything we build is documented so change is a task, not an archaeology project.
Is this RPA, or something newer?
We use whichever fits: classic workflow automation, document intelligence, language models, or plain integration. The business case picks the tool, never the other way round.
Security, data & compliance
How do you handle our data?
Under UK GDPR, with a data-processing agreement, minimum-necessary access, and security controls agreed before any work begins. Our security approach is published openly on this site.
Will our data train someone else’s AI?
No. We configure services so your data is not used for provider training, and we put that commitment in writing.
Can you work within healthcare compliance requirements?
Yes — cautious data handling, audit trails and human-in-the-loop controls are standard in our healthcare work. Specific regulatory obligations are scoped in the assessment.
What about confidentiality for professional firms?
Client-privilege awareness, access controls and confidentiality agreements are standard. We design so privileged material never leaves your controlled environment
Is AI safe enough for business-critical processes?
With the right design, yes: human checkpoints, confidence thresholds, audit logs and fallbacks. We don’t put unreviewed AI decisions into critical paths.
Where is our data hosted?
In UK/EU regions wherever possible, and always disclosed. Data residency is agreed in scoping, not discovered afterwards.
What happens if something goes wrong?
Every build ships with monitoring, alerting, rollback and a support route. Incidents get a plain-English post-mortem: what happened, what we did, what changed.
Do you sign NDAs?
Yes, routinely — before the first detailed conversation if you prefer.
Working together
What does a typical project look like?
Discover → Assess → Pilot → Deliver → Improve. Fixed scope per stage, measured results at every gate. You can stop at any gate with everything you’ve paid for in hand.
How involved does our team need to be?
A few hours from the people who know the process, at discovery and testing. We do the heavy lifting; your team’s knowledge steers it.
Do you train our staff?
Yes — training and documentation are deliverables in every project, not add-ons. Systems people don’t understand don’t get used.
What if our team worries AI threatens their jobs?
We design to remove tasks, not people, and we say so openly in workshops. Adoption fails without the team; we treat their trust as part of the scope.
Can you work on-site?
We’re Manchester-based and work across the UK — on-site where it helps (discovery, workshops, training), remote where it’s efficient.
How do you price?
Fixed price for assessments and defined projects; monthly retainer for managed service and continuous improvement. Time-and-materials only where scope genuinely can’t be fixed — and we’ll say why.
What’s a managed AI service?
We run, monitor and improve your automations for a monthly fee: updates, quarterly optimisation, support and reporting. Most clients move to it after the first project proves value.
Do you offer support contracts without a project?
Yes — health checks, reviews and support for existing automations, even ones we didn’t build.
How do quarterly reviews work?
We measure results against the business case, report plainly, and propose the next highest-return improvement. Momentum, not maintenance.
Can we see examples of your work?
Our published examples are clearly labelled illustrative until clients give permission to be named. Ask in the consultation and we’ll walk through relevant anonymised detail.
ROI & business case
How do you calculate ROI?
Hours saved × loaded cost, error reduction, cycle-time value and avoided hires — forecast in the assessment, then measured after delivery. Estimates are labelled estimates; measurements replace them.
What returns do your clients typically see?
We won’t quote figures we can’t source. The honest answer: the assessment forecasts your number, the pilot tests it, and the review measures it.
What’s the payback period?
It varies by process and volume — which is exactly what the ROI calculator and assessment estimate for your specific case.
How do we justify this to the board?
The assessment produces a board-ready business case: costs, savings, risks, timeline, payback. That document is the deliverable, not a sales aid.
What does inaction cost?
Usually the salary-time spent on manual work, error rework, and slow decisions. The calculator puts a first number on it in five minutes.
Is AI spend risky in a downturn?
Cost-reduction automation is the counter-cyclical case: it’s precisely when margins tighten that removing manual cost pays fastest.
About Query Gem
Who is Query Gem?
A UK AI automation and digital transformation consultancy based in Manchester, serving Manufacturing, Healthcare, Professional Services and SMEs. A consulting firm that happens to build AI — not an AI company selling consulting.
Why “Query Gem”?
Every business question — every query — hides something valuable. Our job is to cut and polish it into measurable value. The name is the method.
What makes you different from big consultancies?
The same discipline — discovery, business case, measured delivery — without the cost, minimum engagement size, or pace. Built for the mid-market, not adapted to it.
What makes you different from AI agencies?
We own outcomes, not deliverables. Agencies ship tools; we sign up to the business case and measure against it quarterly.
Do you only work in the North West?
No — Manchester is home, the UK is the market. On-site work is easiest in the North West; delivery is nationwide.
Which industries do you know best?
Manufacturing, Healthcare, Professional Services and the SME market — each with a documented playbook. Adjacent sectors welcome; we’ll say honestly where our depth is thinner.
Are you hiring?
As we grow, yes — write to us via the contact page with what you do well.
Can you speak at our event or association?
Usually, yes — practical AI education for business audiences is part of how we work. Get in touch with dates.
How do I get the newsletter?
One useful email a month — practical AI for UK business, no hype. Sign up in the footer; unsubscribe anytime.
What’s the very first step?
Book the Discovery Consultation, or if you’re not ready to talk, run the ROI calculator — both take under half an hour and neither creates any obligation.