AI quick scan: free or paid, what do you really get?
Updated: August 2026
Search for an AI scan for your business and you will mainly find free offers. That sounds attractive, but free is rarely free: you pay with a sales call. This article explains how to tell the difference between a scan that benefits you and a scan that mainly benefits the provider.
Why so many scans are free
A free quick scan is a lead magnet for many agencies: a low-threshold way to get to your table. Nothing dishonest about that, but it does determine what you get. The outcome of such a scan rarely points in a different direction than the services the agency happens to sell.
You recognise it by: a short questionnaire, a standard report that mainly lists opportunities, and a follow-up appointment as the actual goal. Useful as a first introduction to the subject, but not advice you can act on independently.
What a paid scan does differently
If you pay for a scan, you may expect something back that has value in itself: a concrete report on your situation, a calculation of what the opportunities yield, a clear priority (what first, what later, what not), and an outcome you can take elsewhere, to another builder or in-house.
The price also enforces honesty on both sides. You take the scan seriously because it costs something; the provider has to deliver something worth the amount instead of disguising a sales call as advice.
What to look for when choosing
Ask about every scan, free or paid:
- Do I get a report I can share and keep?
- Does it contain a priority or just a list of opportunities?
- Are returns actually calculated, or does it stay with fine words?
- Can I take the outcome to another party, or does it only work if I buy from this provider?
An honest provider has a clear answer to all of those. Whoever talks around them is selling a call, not advice.
How our Work Scan works
Our Work Scan is deliberately paid: Compact costs €495 excluding VAT for one clear work problem, Team €1,950 excluding VAT for work that touches several people or processes. You get a concrete report with improvement opportunities, a calculation and an action plan with priority. The outcome is yours; what you do with it, and with whom, is up to you. If you have us build within three months, we deduct the amount in full.
If you want to build afterwards, you get a fixed quote with the Work Scan amount deducted. Nobody is locked into anything, and the introductory call beforehand is simply free. If you already know exactly what you want built, the quote can also follow straight after that call; the Work Scan is for those who first want to know what pays off.
Frequently asked questions
Is a free scan never worth it then?
As a first orientation it can be fine, as long as you see it as the start of a sales conversation and not as independent advice. Do not expect a decision document from it.
Why would I pay when others do it for free?
You pay for an outcome that stands on its own: report, calculation and priority you can act on without us. A free lead magnet cannot afford that.
What if the Work Scan concludes AI is not for us?
Then that is what the report says. Sometimes a simple change in the way of working is smarter than a smart system; that too is an outcome you can use.
Want to know first what AI yields for you?
Start with a free introductory call of at most 30 minutes. If you already know what you want, a fixed quote follows; otherwise the Work Scan with a concrete report and a clear priority.
Request an introductory call