The verdict in three sentences
An AI assistant on the internal knowledge base of a New York mid-size company costs between 60,000 and 135,000 USD in 2026, delivered in 10 weeks. Running costs are 900 to 3,000 USD per month in API calls, depending on question volume. Value rests on two non-negotiables: answers that cite their sources and department-level access rights, with hosting aligned with your privacy and security obligations (SOC 2 vendors, New York SHIELD Act).
The budget, component by component
A RAG (retrieval-augmented generation) assistant only answers from your documents. Cost splits between ingestion, security and interface.
| Component | Indicative 2026 cost | Timeline | Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scoping and document inventory | 6,000 to 12,000 USD | 1 to 2 weeks | Sources, owners, outdated documents |
| Connectors (SharePoint, file server, DMS) | 12,000 to 27,000 USD | 2 to 3 weeks | Automatic document sync |
| Indexing and semantic search (EN, ES) | 12,000 to 24,000 USD | 2 weeks | Chunking, vectors, hybrid search |
| Department access rights (Active Directory) | 9,000 to 21,000 USD | 1 to 2 weeks | Legal never sees payroll files |
| Web and Teams interface with cited sources | 12,000 to 30,000 USD | 2 weeks | Answer, excerpt, link to document |
| Evaluation, logging and monitoring | 9,000 to 21,000 USD | 1 to 2 weeks | 200 test questions, accuracy rate |
2026 order of magnitude. A company with an already structured DMS stays around 60,000 to 85,000 USD.
Hosting, compliance and running costs
Your documents contain personal and confidential data (contracts, HR files). Hosting choices drive both compliance and cost.
| Hosting option | Indicative monthly cost | Compliance | Answer quality |
|---|---|---|---|
| Major model API, US region, zero data retention | 900 to 3,000 USD | Good with signed DPA | Very good |
| Open-source model on private cloud (VPC) | 2,400 to 5,400 USD | Strong, data stays in your tenant | Good |
| Open-source model on on-prem GPU server | 45,000 to 90,000 USD purchase, then 900 USD | Full | Good, in-house maintenance |
| Hybrid (sensitive documents kept private) | 1,800 to 4,200 USD | Strong, by document classification | Very good |
| Microsoft 365 Copilot as a complement | about 30 USD per user per month | Per Microsoft contract | Good, limited tuning |
For 900 employees, a per-user licence for a standard tool quickly exceeds 27,000 USD per month. The custom assistant bills on actual usage.
What makes these projects fail
The first risk is documentary: if three versions of the same procedure coexist, the assistant will give three answers. Plan 2 to 3 weeks of clean-up with business units. The second risk is adoption: an assistant that does not cite its sources loses team trust within days. We set a target of 85% correct answers on 200 test questions before opening to everyone.
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Michael, head of transformation at a services company in New York, has 900 employees, 400 of whom regularly search for procedures and contracts. Cautious assumption: the assistant saves them 20 minutes a day out of the hour lost. That is 400 x 20 min x 220 days = 29,333 hours per year. At a loaded rate of 75 USD per hour, roughly 2,200,000 USD per year. Project at 105,000 USD plus 2,400 USD per month, 133,800 USD in year one. Even dividing the gain by 4, payback comes in under 3 months.
FAQ
How much does an internal knowledge-base AI assistant cost in 2026?
Budget 60,000 to 135,000 USD for a mid-size company, depending on the number of sources and the granularity of access rights. Running costs are then 900 to 3,000 USD per month.
Can the assistant make up answers?
The risk exists, hence cited sources and an explicit "I don't know" when no document matches. The acceptance target is 85% correct answers on 200 questions.
How do we stay compliant?
By signing a data processing agreement, enforcing zero data retention with the model provider and choosing appropriate hosting. Sensitive HR documents can stay in a private environment.
Does the assistant handle several languages?
Yes, 2026 models handle English, Spanish and French well. Scanned handwritten documents give more variable results, around 70% correct answers.
How long until go-live?
About 10 weeks, including a 2-week pilot with one department. Rollout then proceeds department by department.
Let's scope your project. Tell us your document sources, user count and hosting constraints, and we will quote your AI assistant between 60,000 and 135,000 USD, delivered in 10 weeks. 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.
