The verdict in three sentences
An internal AI assistant answers your teams' questions using your internal documents, via a private RAG architecture. In 2026, a secure solution costs 15,000 to 50,000 EUR depending on hosting (EU cloud or on-premise) and the level of access control. The real question is not "which model" but "how do we guarantee each person sees only what they are allowed to see".
What a private AI assistant costs
The price depends on hosting, the number of connected sources (SharePoint, Drive, wiki, ERP) and the granularity of access rights. Confidentiality is the item that shapes the budget.
| Configuration | Project cost (EUR) | Hosting | Security |
|---|---|---|---|
| Departmental | 15,000-25,000 | EU cloud | Group-level rights |
| Multi-department | 26,000-38,000 | Private EU cloud | Document-level rights |
| Sensitive / regulated | 39,000-50,000 | On-premise / sovereign | Strict isolation, audit |
On top, a usage cost applies: as a 2026 order of magnitude, 15 to 40 EUR/active user/month depending on intensity, hosting included. On-premise removes the API cost but adds infrastructure cost.
Security, access rights and confidentiality
The major risk of an internal assistant is information leakage through poor rights management: an intern getting an answer drawn from a confidential HR document. Access rights must be inherited from the sources, not rebuilt.
| Measure | Role | Priority |
|---|---|---|
| Source permission inheritance | Each sees only their documents | Critical |
| EU / sovereign hosting | Data location | Critical |
| Query logging | Audit, GDPR compliance | High |
| Encryption at rest and in transit | Data protection | High |
| Sensitive-data filtering | Masks HR, legal, payroll | High |
| No training on your data | No leak to the model | Critical |
Demand in writing that your data is not used to train any third-party model. It is the red line of any serious project.
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Mini case study
Thomas, CIO of a 400-person industrial mid-cap in Grenoble, wants an assistant that answers on procedures, standards and technical sheets. His engineers lose 45 min/day on average searching for information. He deploys a private RAG on EU cloud at 34,000 EUR, rights inherited from SharePoint. Across 120 users gaining 25 min/day, that is 1,100 h/month recovered, roughly 44,000 EUR/month of productivity. The project pays back in under 2 months, usage cost included.
FAQ
Is my data used to train the AI? No, in a correct architecture your documents only feed answers (RAG) and are never used to train a third-party model. Demand this clause in the contract.
Where is the data hosted? On EU cloud, sovereign cloud or on-premise depending on your sensitivity level. A regulated sector will often choose on-premise, costlier but fully controlled.
How are access rights handled? The assistant inherits permissions from your sources (SharePoint, Drive): each user only sees what they already have access to. It is the most important security measure.
What productivity gain is realistic? Plan 20 to 40 minutes per day per user in roles with heavy document search. Across 100 users, that often exceeds 800 h/month.
How long to deploy? Between 7 and 12 weeks in 2026, of which the secure source connection and rights configuration represent most of the effort.
Let's scope your project. Specify your document sources, your hosting constraint (EU or on-premise) and your number of users, and we'll quote a private, secure AI assistant. 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.
