The verdict in three sentences
For a 250-employee manufacturer in Berlin, an internal AI assistant able to search 4,000 quality documents (standard operating procedures, safety data sheets, inspection plans) costs 30,000 to 70,000 EUR in 2026 on the German market, plus 200 to 800 EUR a month for API and hosting. It is delivered in 8 to 12 weeks and brings the time to find an SOP down to 30 seconds, provided it always cites the source and version of the document. Without access rights per department and version control, the tool becomes a quality risk instead of a gain.
Market options compared
The plant director wants an operator at a workstation, on a shop-floor tablet, to ask "tightening torque DN80 flange line 3" and get the answer with a link to the exact page of the current document. Here is what the main approaches cost in 2026, with Grenoble figures for comparison.
| Option | Upfront cost (2026 estimate) | Monthly cost | Sourced answers | Department rights | Main limitation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full-text search on the DMS | 0 to 5,000 EUR | Included | List of documents | Yes | The operator still has to read the document |
| Microsoft 365 Copilot | 0 | about 30 EUR per user per month | Yes | Inherits SharePoint | 250 licences = 7,500 EUR a month |
| Custom RAG assistant (Berlin agency) | 30,000 to 70,000 EUR | 200 to 800 EUR | Yes, page and version | Yes, per department and site | 8 to 12 weeks |
| Same project, Grenoble agency (for reference) | 20,000 to 50,000 EUR excl. VAT | 200 to 800 EUR | Yes | Yes | 8 to 12 weeks |
| Configured RAG SaaS platform | 10,000 to 25,000 EUR | 1,000 to 3,000 EUR | Yes | Varies | Data outside your perimeter |
| Kolonell AI application (medium complexity) | 4,000,000 to 7,000,000 FCFA (6,100 to 10,670 EUR) | maintenance 75,000 FCFA a month | Yes | Yes | Remote team, video workshops |
Agency and SaaS amounts are market estimates. The Copilot price is the 2026 public list price before volume discounts.
When only 60 to 80 operators and technicians use the assistant daily, custom work costs far less than a per-seat licence, especially if part of the workforce has no Microsoft 365 account.
What a serious RAG assistant contains
RAG stands for retrieval-augmented generation: the system first retrieves relevant passages from your documents, then the model writes an answer using only those passages. The budget splits as follows.
| Component | Role | Share of budget | Watch point |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ingestion and chunking | Read PDF, Word, scans, tables | 20 to 25 % | Tolerance tables and drawings need specific handling |
| Index and search | Vector and keyword engine | 15 to 20 % | Part numbers and machine codes need exact matching |
| Version control | Index only the current version | 10 to 15 % | Sync with the quality DMS |
| Access rights | Filter by department, site, level | 10 to 15 % | No HR or R&D document visible on the shop floor |
| Shop-floor interface | Tablet, large buttons, voice input | 15 to 20 % | Gloves, noise, shared screens |
| Evaluation and acceptance | 200 real questions scored | 10 to 15 % | Rate of correct, sourced answers measured before rollout |
The monthly 200 to 800 EUR covers model calls (a few hundred questions a day), index hosting and automatic reindexing of changed documents. Hosting in Germany or the EU meets GDPR requirements, and works councils (Betriebsrat) usually expect a clear statement that the tool does not monitor individual performance.
Mini case study
Jonas, plant director at a 250-employee valve manufacturer in Berlin, has 90 operators and technicians. Each looks up an average of 3 documents a day, losing 5 minutes per search between the DMS, binders and asking the team lead.
- Current time: 90 x 3 x 5 min = 22.5 hours a day.
- With the assistant: 90 x 3 x 1 min = 4.5 hours a day, so 18 hours saved a day.
- Over 220 days at a loaded cost of 45 EUR an hour: 18 x 220 x 45 = 178,200 EUR a year of theoretical time recovered.
- Year-one cost: 55,000 EUR project + 12 x 600 EUR = 62,200 EUR.
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Even counting only a third of the theoretical gain, the project pays back in about 13 months. In this illustrative scenario, fewer nonconformities caused by an outdated SOP version are an additional gain that is hard to price in advance.
FAQ
Can the AI make up a wrong answer?
The risk exists if the assistant is not constrained. A well-designed RAG answers only from retrieved passages, cites page and version, and says "I can't find it" in 5 to 10 % of cases rather than improvising.
Do our documents leave the company?
Relevant passages are sent to the model for each question, through a contracted API with no reuse for training. Hosting the index in Germany and using a model deployed in an EU region reduces exposure.
How long does it take to index 4,000 documents?
Technical indexing takes 1 to 3 days. The real delay is cleanup: removing obsolete versions and duplicates often takes 2 to 3 weeks of work with the quality team.
Can it be used on a shop-floor tablet?
Yes, a responsive web interface works on rugged tablets, with optional voice input. Add 3,000 to 6,000 EUR for voice in a noisy environment.
Do we need to retrain the model on our documents?
No, RAG avoids training, which is costly and hard to update. A new procedure version is available in the assistant minutes after it is published in the DMS.
Our artificial intelligence offer describes our approach, and our cybersecurity page details the access controls we apply.
Let's scope your project. Tell us your document volume, formats, DMS and number of users: we will price a pilot on one department, the full budget and the timeline through a free quote. 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.
