Service
RAG / Document AI Development
AI Pod Studios builds retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) and document AI systems that let staff ask questions of your own contracts, policies and files. Start with the $5,000 two-week AI Sprint or rent engineers at $50/hr. Code and IP belong to you; work happens in your repos and Slack.
By AI Pod Studios Media Team · Updated
How we compare
| AI Pod Studios | US full-time hire | Typical agency | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Published hourly rate | $50/hr engineer · $75/hr lead | Salary + benefits (varies) | Rates not published |
| Time to start | Slack within 7 business days of MSA/SOW + deposit | Full hiring cycle | Not published |
| Commitment | Month-to-month, 2 weeks' notice | Employment | Typically project contract |
| Replacement | Free swap in first 2 weeks | Re-hire | Not published |
| IP ownership | Assigned to client | Employer | Per contract |
| Fixed-price pilot | $5,000 two-week Sprint | — | Not published |
"Rates not published" means we could not find a published figure; verify with each provider.
Deliverables
- Document ingestion and chunking pipeline
- Retrieval + answer service with source citations
- Evaluation set built from your real questions
- Deployment in your cloud account
Process
- 01
Pick one document set and 20 real questions
- 02
Build ingestion + retrieval in the Sprint
- 03
Evaluate answers against your questions
- 04
Extend at $50/hr if it earns its keep
Pricing
| Option | Price | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| AI Engineer | $50/hr | Vetted engineer, part-time or full-time |
| Senior Lead | $75/hr | Architecture, reviews, delivery lead |
| The Pod: 1 Senior Lead + 2 AI Engineers, full-time in your Slack | $75/hr Lead + $50/hr Engineers | Pod totals quoted on your scoping call |
| AI Sprint (by AI Pod Lab) | $5,000 flat | 2 weeks, scoped build, code is yours |
RAG / Document AI Development FAQ
+Does our data leave our environment?
We build in your repos and deploy to the cloud account you choose. Data handling is defined in the SOW and NDA.
+Can a RAG system cite its sources?
Yes — we design answers to show the passages they came from so staff can check them.
+What does a first RAG build cost?
The AI Sprint is $5,000 flat for 2 weeks. Ongoing work rolls into $50/hr engineering.
AI Pod Lab Sprint
$5,000. Two weeks. Working code you own.
Then roll straight into $50/hr engineering — or stop. Your call.