Artificial intelligence and innovation consultancy

Artificial intelligence has become one of the leading indicators of organisations’ capacity for innovation. Its adoption is accelerating across Europe and is playing an increasingly important role in business transformation strategies. In 2025, one in five European Union companies with at least ten employees used artificial intelligence technologies. According to Eurostat, this represents a significant increase from 13.5% the previous year and rises to 55% among large companies. Despite this progress, Europe still has considerable ground to cover if it is to achieve one of the objectives set out in the Digital Decade 2030 strategy: ensuring that three out of four businesses use cloud computing, big data or artificial intelligence.

Against this backdrop, “artificial intelligence is no longer just a technological promise; it has become a powerful driver of competitiveness,” says Daniel Errea, Head of the Digital area at Zabala Innovation. In his view, “the challenge is no longer whether organisations should use AI, but where it can generate real value”. Areas as diverse as technical information analysis, data exploitation, opportunity monitoring, operational efficiency, document management, the design of new services and improving relationships with customers and users are just some of the examples highlighted by Errea.

How an innovation consultancy can support AI projects

Many organisations identify opportunities to apply artificial intelligence, but turning an idea into a viable project requires clear objectives, well-defined priorities and an assessment of its technological, economic and strategic viability. This is where an innovation consultancy such as Zabala Innovation provides methodology, structure and a broad strategic perspective.

This support can begin long before a call for proposals is published. It includes digital transformation assessments, the identification of innovative AI use cases, the development of strategic roadmaps and an evaluation of the capabilities required to develop the solution, bring it to market or validate it in a real-world environment.

Once the project has been defined, the consultancy can help the organisation identify the most appropriate calls for proposals, find partners, build consortia and prepare R&D&I proposals. It can also support the drafting of the technical proposal, the definition of the work plan and budget and, once funding has been secured, the project’s administrative, financial and technical management, as well as the exploitation and transfer of results.

This approach is particularly valuable for artificial intelligence projects, which often combine disciplines such as data analytics, software development, automation, cybersecurity and validation in real-world settings. “The key is not simply to secure funding, but to build a robust project that addresses a genuine challenge and aligns with the objectives of the funding programme,” Errea explains.

Funding for artificial intelligence projects

Public funding has become a key driver of artificial intelligence, digitalisation and automation projects. Funding opportunities are available at regional, national and European level to support research, experimental development, technology adoption, process improvement and collaboration between businesses, technology centres and universities.

However, securing this funding requires far more than a good idea. “Calls for proposals assess technical quality, the level of innovation, the expected impact, implementation capacity and alignment with strategic priorities,” explains Errea. In the case of AI, particular importance is also placed on factors such as data availability and quality, security, traceability, ethics and the scalability of solutions.

Zabala Innovation’s experience with these funding programmes also helps organisations anticipate potential eligibility risks, strengthen the consistency of their proposals and tailor each project to the specific evaluation criteria.

What types of organisations can benefit?

Artificial intelligence is not limited to large technology companies. It can deliver value to industrial SMEs, large corporations, start-ups, technology centres, universities, hospitals, public authorities, clusters, trade associations and any organisation that manages large volumes of information or complex processes.

Its applications are wide-ranging. A company may use AI to automate administrative tasks, optimise operations or improve predictive maintenance. A technology centre may integrate it into collaborative research projects. A public authority may use it to deliver more agile and efficient public services. “The key is to link the technology to a specific need and measurable outcomes,” Errea emphasises.

Kaila: artificial intelligence for identifying funding opportunities

One of the most immediate applications of AI in innovation consultancy is the identification of funding opportunities. Kaila, Zabala Innovation’s intelligent platform, is designed to help organisations identify relevant calls for proposals, partners and projects in an environment where funding programmes are becoming increasingly numerous and specialised.

The platform enables users to filter opportunities according to factors such as subject area, organisation type, geographical scope, budget, technology readiness level and submission deadlines. In doing so, it streamlines a task that can be particularly challenging for organisations managing several innovation initiatives simultaneously.

However, technology does not replace expert analysis. Selecting the most appropriate funding strategy and developing a competitive proposal still depends on the knowledge and experience of specialist teams.

AI applied to proposal preparation and innovation management

Zabala Innovation not only supports organisations developing artificial intelligence projects, but also takes part in initiatives such as AI-Boost and integrates AI into its own day-to-day operations. “We use AI for repetitive, time-consuming tasks that require precision and involve processing large volumes of information. This allows us to devote more resources to higher-value activities and provide a better service to our clients,” Errea explains.

AI does not replace the technical judgement or accumulated expertise of consultancy teams. Instead, it acts as a support tool for particularly information-intensive tasks. At Zabala Innovation, it is used for activities such as document analysis, the preliminary review of calls for proposals, the early identification of potential eligibility risks and internal support for proposal preparation. It is also used to improve processes, train teams and develop proprietary in-house solutions. Human expertise, however, remains essential. “Our real added value still lies in expert judgement, funding strategy, project design and our ability to turn an opportunity into a robust, coherent and competitive proposal,” Errea concludes.