A consulting engagement means a lot of reading, interviewing, and formatting before the hour of real thinking. AI takes on those three. The diagnosis, the recommendations, and your word to the client stay yours.
AI helps independent consultants with tasks such as “Prepare the interview guide for the diagnosis,” “Write the scoping note for an engagement,” and “Keep a record of a diagnostic interview.” Start with a single task, in Claude: allow 15 minutes the first time, and always review the result before you use it.
For each task: how it goes today, then with the tool. And the time it takes the first time.
Claude · Word file, in the conversation
TodayYou head into interviews with ten questions jotted down on the train, and the answers can’t be compared from one person to the next.
With ClaudeA one-hour interview guide and an identical note-taking grid for everyone you meet.
Claude · “Projects”
TodayThe client says “we’re aligned,” but without a written scoping note, the scope starts drifting by the third week.
With ClaudeA two-page scoping note, with the gray areas flagged, to get approved before you start.
Granola · “New Note,” then “Enhanced” tab
TodayYou listen, follow up, and take notes all at once. By evening, half of the exact wording is gone.
With GranolaAn interview summary structured like your guide, with the useful quotes and the points to verify.
Also
Gemini Notebook · One notebook per engagement
A list of weighted findings, each tied to the interviews it rests on, and a table to reuse in your report.
Perplexity · “Research”
A sourced report on the industry, its vocabulary, and its metrics, to read before the first committee meeting.
Julius · Excel or CSV file, in the conversation
A data quality check on the file, answers with numbers to your questions, and the charts for the report.
Gamma · “Paste”
An eight-slide deck, faithful to your outline, exportable to PowerPoint.
The list of objections to expect, role by role, and the recommendations to shore up before the final presentation.
Granola · “Granola Chat,” on the engagement folder
A ten-line status update for the client, and the list of your own open commitments.
A 400-word article, drawn from your experience, to review and publish under your name.
All 10 use cases on this page are in Nova, each with its steps and its prompt.
Try the interactive demoWhat to check
The guide is a starting point: your knowledge of the field is what makes for good follow-ups. Do not give the names of the people you will meet; their role is enough.
Prepare the interview guide for the diagnosisClaude · Word file, in the conversationThe prompt to copy
I am running a diagnosis on [question asked by the client] in [type of organization]. I will meet: [list of roles, without names]. Prepare a one-hour interview guide. An opening that recalls the framework and the confidentiality of what is said. Five themes, each with two open questions and two follow-ups. No leading questions. One final question: “What haven’t I asked that I should know?” Add the variants to ask depending on the role, and a one-page grid for recording the answers the same way in every interview. Give me a Word file.
In Nova, “My path” starts from your level: one next step at a time.
The first moves, with free tools.
In your jobWrite the scoping note for an engagement
In your jobPrepare the interview guide for the diagnosis
In your jobBuild the steering committee deck
In your jobKeep a record of a diagnostic interview
For a team: everyone moves forward in their own job. You see the team’s progress, never one person’s activity.
One project per engagement, with the client’s request and your notes: it helps you scope, build your interview guides, and stress-test your recommendations.
Recommended planFree to start. Pro, $20 per month ($17 per month if billed yearly), if you work in it every day.
During a diagnostic interview, you listen and you follow up: it takes the notes, with no bot on the call. You can then question the whole engagement folder at once.
Recommended planBasic, $0. Notes older than 30 days are visible only with Business, $14 per user per month.
Fifteen interview summaries in one notebook: you cross-check the answers, and each finding points back to the original passage.
Recommended planFree: 100 notebooks, 50 sources per notebook, 50 questions per day.
Before an engagement in a new industry: the players, the rules, the numbers, and the vocabulary, with the source of each piece of information.
Recommended planFree to start: 3 “Pro” searches per day, 1 “Research” report per month. Pro, $20 per month (€22 on the French App Store).
The client sends a ten-thousand-row export: you ask your questions in plain English, and you leave with the number and the chart.
Recommended planFree, $0: 25 credits per day, files deleted after one hour of inactivity. To export reports and charts: Plus, $20 per month, or $16 per month billed yearly.
You paste the outline for the steering committee, and it lays it out. You export to PowerPoint to apply your own template.
Recommended planFree, $0, to try it: 400 credits that do not refill. Then: Plus, €8 per user per month, billed yearly (€96).
Prices taken from the vendors’ official pages, dated on each tool page. These subscriptions are not included in Nova. Brands are named to identify the tools. No affiliation.
Nova recommends 6 to start with: Claude, Granola, Gemini Notebook, Perplexity, Julius, and Gamma. All of them can be used for free to get started.
One project per engagement, with the client’s request and your notes: it helps you scope, build your interview guides, and stress-test your recommendations. The plan to choose: Free to start. Pro, $20 per month ($17 per month if billed yearly), if you work in it every day.
With “Prepare the interview guide for the diagnosis,” in Claude (Word file, in the conversation). Allow 15 minutes the first time. A one-hour interview guide and an identical note-taking grid for everyone you meet.
No. Nova is software, not an accredited training provider: it issues no diploma or certification. It costs €19 per month for one person, and €129 per month for a team of up to ten people.