Ten questions, before you sign.
Several agencies in and around Monaco now say “AI”. Most of them are honest and some of them are good. These questions separate the ones that will leave you with a system from the ones that will leave you with a deck.
Ask these ten questions to anyone, including us. We give our answers below each one so you can compare.
Questions 1 to 5: the work
1. Can I see something you built, running? Ours: yes, five systems described with their first-month numbers on the work page, and a live demo on request. 2. Is there a prototype on my data before I commit to a build? Ours: two weeks, fixed price, on your real data. 3. Who decides when the system is unsure? Ours: a person, always, by design. 4. Which of my tools does it live in? Ours: the ones you have; we do not sell a platform. 5. How do you measure the result? Ours: a monthly count of hours given back, from the system’s log.
Questions 6 to 10: the terms
6. Who owns the code? Ours: you, documented, handed over. 7. Where does my data go, and is it used to train anything? Ours: it stays in your tools, EU-hosted by default, never used for training. 8. What happens if I stop? Ours: it keeps running or your IT takes over; nothing is held. 9. Is the price fixed before each step? Ours: yes, in writing. 10. Who will I actually deal with? Ours: the people building it, in Monaco, in French or English.
Three warning signs
A proposal that starts with a platform licence before anyone has looked at your tasks. A promise that the AI will “answer clients autonomously” on day one. A quote from a form, with no call, no prototype and no named person. None of these is fraud; all of them put the risk on you.
What we do for it.
About us, since you are choosing
bss works is the AI branch of BSS, a Monaco studio that has built websites, apps and brands for 200+ companies since 2019, official partner of the Extended Monaco programme, with one product of its own in production (Trace, client verification for regulated professions). The founder is Ben Sylvester Strautmann; the office is at 41 avenue Hector Otto. We are small on purpose, so the people you meet are the people who build.
Questions.
Should we choose a Monaco agency or a bigger one from Paris or Milan?
Choose the one that will prototype on your data, name the person you deal with, and come to your office when needed. Size is not the criterion; proximity and ownership are.
Is an AI consultant better than an agency?
A consultant gives advice; an agency builds. If you want a system running, you need someone who builds and runs it. We do both, and the audit is the advice part.
Does it matter which AI model the agency uses?
Less than you would think. We use the model that fits each task and can swap it; what matters is the rules around it, the controls, and who decides.
Can we talk to one of your clients?
Yes, with their agreement, after the quick-check.
What if we already have an IT provider?
We work alongside them; most of our clients have one. We need read access and a contact, and we hand the code over to them if you prefer.
Related.
AI agency in Monaco
Most “AI agencies in Monaco” you find online are a page on a French or Luxembourg site. We are at 41 avenue Hector Otto, registered in the Principality since 2019, and we have built for two hundred Monaco companies before building their first automation.
How much does an AI project cost in Monaco?
Nobody can quote an AI project from a web page without guessing, and a guess is a lie with a currency sign. Here is what actually drives the price, how we fix it before each step, and what you get for it.
Work
Case studies from bss works: inbox and voice agents, document and reporting automation, AI search visibility, and Trace, our client-verification product for Monaco. Each one with the number that matters.
Start with a 30-minute call. Keep what it finds.
You tell us where the hours go. We tell you which two or three tasks to automate first, in a short written note. Free, in English or French.