Hire forward deployed engineers

Bring a real example of the work, the tools involved and the people whose approval is needed. Explain the current process, including the awkward cases. A brief that only says “we need an AI agent” leaves the important decisions to discovery after the person starts.

If those inputs are missing, begin with AI assessment. If you mainly need the role explained, read forward deployed engineering. The right brief makes clear which decisions the engineer can take and which remain with your team.

List the systems that must be integrated and who can grant access. State the information that may be used, any actions requiring human approval and the existing fallback. Write down what is excluded so that the first build cannot quietly become a programme of unrelated requests.

A useful illustrative brief asks for a reviewed sales research pack from approved sources, rather than autonomous outbound messages. AI-powered GTM explains that revenue workflow; AI planning consultancy can turn the opportunity into a delivery sequence.

Ask what the fee covers, how changes are priced and which costs stay with you. Hosting, model usage and third-party licences may be separate from engineering time. Agree the support arrangement and what happens when an external service or model changes.

The handover should include repositories, operating notes, test cases and a named internal owner. AI technical consultancy can review those requirements. Contact predeploy with the workflow and systems involved so we can prepare a plan and quote.