Is Your AI Consultant Independent? Checking for Tool Commissions

They might. Many automation and CRM vendors pay the people who refer customers: Make's affiliate programme pays 35% of what you spend for 12 months, and HubSpot pays its Solutions Partners 20% of net revenue for up to 36 months. Commission isn't wrong in itself, but get every arrangement disclosed in writing before you accept a recommendation.

Plenty of good consultants earn from vendors, because partner status brings training, support access and early warning of changes. What matters is whether that income shapes what they recommend to you. A written disclosure, a comparison that includes options they don't earn from, and prices you can check against the vendor's own list settle most of it.

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What vendors pay the people who recommend them

Referral programmes are normal in software, and most vendors publish their terms. These are the terms on each vendor's partner pages as of September 2026. They change, so check the current page before relying on a figure.

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The terms come from each vendor's own pages: Make's affiliate programme, HubSpot's Solutions Partner Program policies and HighLevel's affiliate policy are worth reading in full if a consultant recommends one of those products.

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Three patterns stand out. The payments are recurring, so a consultant can keep earning long after the project ends. Some run for as long as you stay a customer, which rewards recommending products that are hard to leave. And the rates are a meaningful share of what you pay, not a token.

Commission, resale margin and white-label mark-up compared

Not every financial link is a commission. There are three main forms, and they show up in different places:

Resale is common with Microsoft: partners in its Cloud Solution Provider programme buy licences at a wholesale price and set the price they charge you. That can be perfectly fair when the partner adds support, but you should be able to compare their line with the list price. White-labelling is common in the AI automation world: HighLevel, for example, lets agencies activate a mode that sells its platform under their own brand at a monthly price they choose. If a consultant's "own AI system" turns out to be someone else's platform, the question is what the mark-up pays for; how to tell whether an AI tool is a wrapper helps you find out what's underneath.

There are quieter forms too: referral fees between consultants and the developers they bring in, "free" assessments funded by a vendor, and targets a partner must hit to keep its tier. None is automatically a problem. All of them are worth a question.

What a referral is worth to the consultant: a quick sum

Whether a commission could sway a recommendation depends on its size compared with the consulting fee. Some sums, using illustrative spending levels:

• A small automation plan. If you move to a Make plan costing $29 a month through a referral link, 35% for 12 months is about $122 in total. Hard to imagine that bending anyone's judgement.
• A CRM rollout. If your HubSpot subscriptions settle at $400 a month after a partner's implementation, 20% of net revenue for 36 months is about $80 a month, or $2,880 over three years. If the partner's setup fee was $1,500, the commission is the larger income.
• An all-in-one platform. If a platform costs you $300 a month and the referrer earns 40% for as long as you stay, that's $120 a month, $1,440 a year, every year you don't leave.

The first case is noise. The second and third are real incentives, and they point in a particular direction: towards bigger plans, more add-ons and platforms that are harder to leave. That doesn't mean the recommendation is wrong. It means you should see the alternatives before agreeing.

Why a partner badge can still be good news for you

It would be easy to read the table above and decide to avoid partners altogether. That would usually be a mistake. Partner tiers are earned: Zapier's Solution Partners progress through tiers that start at the Certified Zapier Expert level, and Make ranks its partners as Platinum, Gold or Silver on their track record. Partners also tend to hear about changes before customers do. Make renamed its error handlers in September 2026, and HubSpot stopped new installs of five of its Breeze agents in July 2026; a partner working in those platforms every day is more likely to have adjusted your setup before either change bit.

So separate two kinds of decision. For work inside a platform you've already chosen, a certified partner is often the best-qualified person available, and their commission changes little. For the decision about which platform to use, or whether you need a new one at all, you want advice from someone with nothing riding on the answer, or at least someone who shows you the options they don't earn from. Where to find a good AI consultant explains which channels suit which kind of job.

When a commission should change your decision

Once an arrangement is disclosed, you still have to decide how much weight to give it. These are the thresholds I'd use:

• Small and time-limited: if the total commission over its term is under about a tenth of the consulting fee, note it and move on. It won't be steering anything.
• Comparable to the fee, or open-ended: if it rivals the fee, or runs for as long as you stay a customer, ask for at least one alternative the consultant doesn't earn from and compare both against your own requirements, not the consultant's summary.
• Tied to holding your accounts: if the consultant would resell licences or own the admin login, require direct accounts in your name whatever the commission, and pay for their support separately if you want it.
• Not disclosed when asked: walk away. The commission might be small; the unwillingness to say is the problem.

The resale case needs a sum rather than a rule. Take a members' club whose IT partner, a Microsoft partner, quotes Microsoft 365 Copilot Business at $24 a user a month for ten committee and office users. The list price is $21 a user a month on annual billing, so the partner's margin is $3 a user, $30 a month, $360 a year. If that buys a named contact who sets up the licences, answers questions and handles renewals, it may be good value. If it buys nothing beyond the invoice, buy direct. Either way, the club now knows what it's paying for, which is the whole point of asking.

Questions that get a straight answer on commissions

"Are you independent?" invites a yes. Specific questions get specific answers:

1. Do you have partner, affiliate, reseller or referral arrangements with any tools you might recommend to us? Which ones?
2. If we chose [product], would you earn anything, now or later? Roughly how much, and for how long?
3. Would we buy licences directly from the vendor, or through you?
4. Which options did you consider for us and rule out, and why?
5. What would you recommend if you earned nothing from any vendor?
6. Do you receive referral fees from developers or other specialists you might bring in?

Here's an illustrative good answer to question 2:

Yes. I'm a HubSpot Solutions Partner, so if you buy through me HubSpot pays me 20% of your subscription for up to three years. On the plan I'd suggest, that's roughly $80 a month. If you'd rather, you can buy directly and I'll set it up for the same fee; I've also included a Google Workspace option in the proposal that I don't earn anything from.

And an evasive one:

We're completely vendor-agnostic and only ever recommend what's best for the client. We do have relationships with a number of leading platforms, which means we can get you the best possible deal.

The first names the arrangement, sizes it, offers a way round it and shows an alternative. The second claims independence and admits a relationship in the same breath, without saying what it is. Ask the question again, in writing, with the words "which platforms and on what terms". If the second answer is as vague as the first, you have your answer.

A disclosure clause for the engagement letter

Answers in a meeting are easy to forget. Put disclosure into the engagement letter or contract. Illustrative wording you can adapt, not legal advice; for a large contract, have a solicitor review it:

Third-party benefits. Before making any recommendation, the Consultant will disclose in writing every commission, referral fee, revenue share, reseller margin, discount or other benefit that the Consultant, or anyone connected with the Consultant, may receive from a supplier whose product or service is recommended, with the approximate amount and duration. Where such a benefit exists, the Consultant will also present at least one suitable alternative from which no benefit is received. Unless agreed otherwise in writing, the Client will buy licences directly from suppliers, and all accounts will be registered in the Client's name with the Client holding administrator access.

The last sentence matters as much as the disclosure. It keeps the accounts yours whatever happens to the relationship. The clauses to check in an AI consulting contract covers the rest of the agreement.

A charity shop tests a recommendation for bias

Here's how the questions work in practice, in an invented but realistic case. A small charity runs three charity shops with two paid staff and about 70 volunteers. It hires a consultant to help with volunteer rotas, stock notes for online listings and emails to regular supporters. After two meetings the consultant recommends an all-in-one platform with an AI assistant, at about $300 a month, bought through the consultant's account.

The shop manager asks the six questions. The consultant answers openly: the platform pays a 40% recurring referral commission, and the consultant would hold the account and bill the charity. Asked question 5, the consultant sketches a no-commission alternative: the charity's Google Workspace for Nonprofits (which includes the Gemini app at no extra cost, where the charity qualifies), a shared rota sheet with automated reminders, and the email tool it already uses. Estimated running cost: under $50 a month.

The manager lays both options against the charity's actual needs:

The platform was more convenient, and for a bigger organisation it might have been the right call. For this one, most of it was surplus. The charity chose the cheaper route and paid the consultant a fixed fee to set it up, which removed the commission from the decision entirely. It's worth noticing that the consultant came out of this well: the arrangement was disclosed as soon as it was asked about, and a sound alternative appeared the moment one was requested. That's what a trustworthy partner looks like. The problem case is the one who won't answer.

Before settling on either option, the charity also ran both through the same comparison it would use for any software purchase; a small business scorecard for evaluating an AI vendor gives a format.

Clues in the links, invoices and admin accounts

If you'd like to check without asking, or to confirm what you've been told, three places reveal most arrangements:

• The links. Sign-up links sent by a consultant often carry a tracking code, usually after a question mark, such as ref= or via= followed by a name or number. It's how the vendor knows whom to pay. Its presence isn't sinister, but it confirms a referral arrangement exists.
• The invoices. If licences appear on the consultant's invoice rather than the vendor's, you're buying through a reseller. Compare each line with the vendor's list price for the same plan and billing period.
• The admin accounts. Check who is listed as the owner or primary administrator of every tool set up for you. It should be someone in your organisation.

The last point is where real damage happens. A charity whose CRM licences sit in a consultant's reseller account shows how. When the relationship ends, the charity can't change its plan, download past invoices or add a user without the consultant's cooperation, and moving the account takes weeks of emails. Nothing dishonest needs to happen for this; the setup simply leaves the consultant holding the keys. Who owns the AI workflows a consultant builds covers how to agree ownership before the work starts, which is far easier than recovering it afterwards.

Commissions and independence: common questions

Is it allowed for a consultant to take commission without telling me?

The rules depend on where you and the consultant operate and on the sector, so I can't give you a legal answer. Many advertising and professional rules expect paid relationships to be disclosed, but you don't need to rely on that. Make disclosure a term of your engagement letter, and ask a solicitor if a large contract or a regulated sector is involved.

Should I avoid consultants who are partners of a software vendor?

No. A partner often knows that vendor's product better than anyone, gets support faster and hears about changes early, which makes them a good choice for work inside a platform you've already picked. Be more careful when the question is which platform to choose in the first place, and ask that partner to show you at least one alternative they don't earn from.

Can I ask the consultant to pass the commission on to me?

You can ask. Some consultants credit referral income against their fee, and some simply agree not to use their referral link, so you buy directly with no commission paid. Vendor programmes have their own terms, which the consultant should check. Either way, putting the question on the table tells you how openly they will talk about money.

How do I check whether licences I'm buying through a consultant are marked up?

Compare each line on their invoice with the vendor's published list price for the same plan and billing period. Microsoft 365 Copilot Business, for example, lists at $21 a user a month on annual billing. A reseller may charge more for the support they add, which can be fair, but it should be a visible, agreed difference.

Further reads

• AI Consultant Red Flags: 12 Warning Signs to Walk Away From — Other warning signs to watch for alongside undisclosed commissions.
• How to Vet an AI Consultant's Case Studies and References — Check the results a consultant claims before you rely on them.
• How to Hire a HubSpot or CRM Consultant to Set Up AI Features — Hiring a HubSpot partner when the platform is already chosen.
• How to Hire a Microsoft 365 Partner for a Copilot Rollout — Working with a Microsoft partner who may also resell licences.
• AI Strategy vs AI Implementation Consultant: Which Do You Need? — Which kind of consultant should choose the tools.
• AI Tool Discounts for Charities and Non-Profits: What to Claim — Non-profit prices to check before accepting any licence quote.
• Do I Need an AI Consultant? 8 Signs It's Time to Get Help — Eight signs a small business needs outside AI help, each with a test you can run this week, plus the signs that it doesn't need a consultant yet.
• Do Small Medical Practices Need an AI Consultant? — When a small medical practice can handle AI itself, the signs outside help will pay for itself, what a consultant shouldn't do, and a scoped brief to adapt.
• When Should a Trades Business Bring In an AI Consultant? — The signals that a trades firm needs outside AI help, a ten-minute scoring sheet, what to gather first and what a good engagement leaves behind.
• Should You Hire an Automation Consultant or Build It Yourself? — A five-question test, what DIY really costs in hours, one build that worked and one that didn't, and the hybrid route most small firms should take.
• How to Choose an AI Consultant: 20 Questions to Ask First — Twenty questions to put to any AI consultant, what strong and weak answers sound like, and a scoring sheet filled in for a farm shop.
• AI Automation Agency Pricing: What You Pay For and What's Extra — How AI automation agencies price their work, what the build fee should include, what's extra, and a furniture maker's agency quote decoded line by line.
• Free AI Consultations: What You Get and How to Use Them Well — What fits into a free AI consultation, why advisers offer one, and how to prepare, question and compare calls so you leave with a real diagnosis.
• How to Hire a Certified Zapier Expert and What They Charge — A florist's three automations, a task count that decides the Zapier plan, and how to find, brief and pay a certified Zapier partner without overpaying.
• What Is the Cheapest Way to Get Expert AI Advice? — Free help pages, forums, adoption kits and discovery calls answer most AI questions. When paid advice is worth it, and how to compare quotes.
• AI Tools and AI Development: The Complete 2026 Guide — the AI hub, including every tutorial in the AI-for-business series.

Sources: Make affiliate programme and partner pages; n8n affiliate programme page; Zapier Solution Partner Program pages; HubSpot Affiliate Program and Solutions Partner Program policies; HighLevel affiliate policy; Microsoft Learn on the Cloud Solution Provider programme; Microsoft 365 Copilot Business pricing.