The verdict in three sentences
Integrating genuinely useful AI into a business app costs in 2026 between 12,000 and 36,000 EUR to build, plus a monthly run of 300 to 1,800 EUR billed per token. The cases that pay off are document extraction, automatic summarization and smart search (RAG) over your internal data. Plan for 4 to 8 weeks of delivery and insist on guardrails: without supervision, AI hallucinates and destroys trust.
How much AI integration costs in 2026
Price depends on the use case, document volume and the reliability level required. Here are 2026 orders of magnitude for the Berlin market.
| Use case | Build (EUR) | Monthly run (EUR) | Timeline |
|---|---|---|---|
| Automatic report summarization | 12,000 | 300 | 4 weeks |
| Invoice/contract extraction | 19,000 | 500 | 5 weeks |
| Smart RAG search | 24,000 | 800 | 6 weeks |
| Multi-task business assistant | 30,000 | 1,200 | 7 weeks |
| Full AI suite (3 cases) | 36,000 | 1,800 | 8 weeks |
The run covers language model calls (billed per token), vector database hosting and monitoring. Summarizing a 4-page document costs a few cents in tokens; at scale, volume is what drives the bill.
What the budget actually covers
A serious project is not just plugging in an API. Here is the typical breakdown of a 24,000 EUR build.
| Item | Share of budget | Role |
|---|---|---|
| RAG and prompt engineering | 35 % | Answer relevance |
| Internal data connectors | 20 % | Feeding the model |
| Guardrails and supervision | 20 % | Prevent hallucinations |
| UI and app integration | 15 % | Daily usage |
| Testing and acceptance | 10 % | Reliability before prod |
Guardrails (source checking, confidence thresholds, human escalation) are not optional: they make the difference between a gadget and a tool your teams actually use.
Need a professional website?
Kolonell builds websites that attract clients, optimized for the Sénégalese market. Free quote in 2 minutes.
Mini case study
Mr. Weber runs a 30-person consulting firm in Berlin. His consultants spend 12 hours a week summarizing reports and finding clauses in old contracts. He invests 19,000 EUR in extraction + RAG search, with a 500 EUR/month run.
Processing time drops by 50 %: 6 hours saved per week per consultant. Across 10 consultants at a loaded hourly cost of 60 EUR, that is 3,600 EUR saved per week, roughly 14,400 EUR/month. The build pays for itself in under 2 months, run included.
FAQ
Does AI replace my teams? No: it removes repetitive tasks (summarizing, searching, extracting) and makes your teams 30 to 50 % faster. The decision stays human, especially with escalation guardrails.
Is my data exposed? With a well-designed RAG architecture, your documents stay within your perimeter and only relevant excerpts are sent to the model. You can also self-host a model for sensitive data.
What does the per-token run really cost? Expect 300 to 1,800 EUR/month depending on volume. Internal usage for 30 people generally stays under 800 EUR/month.
Why 4 to 8 weeks and not 2? Value comes from RAG engineering and testing on your real data. A prototype takes 2 weeks; a reliable production tool needs acceptance testing and guardrails.
Can we start small? Yes. A first use case at 12,000 EUR proves ROI before scaling to a full suite.
Let's scope your project. Tell us your priority use case, document volume and indicative budget. Detailed quote within 48 h. WhatsApp +221 77 596 93 33.
Mohamed Bah
Fondateur, Kolonell
Passionate about digital and entrepreneurship in Africa, Mohamed has been helping Sénégalese businesses with their digital transformation since 2020. Founder of Kolonell, he believes every SME deserves a professional and accessible online présence.
