AI may shrink strategy consulting but not replace it fully, FT says

In short: AI can handle more of the research and planning work consultants sell, but human consultants may still be needed to help companies actually make changes.

What's going on

A Financial Times opinion column looks at what artificial intelligence, or AI, means for strategy consulting firms like McKinsey, Bain, and Boston Consulting Group. These firms are often hired by top executives to study a problem, suggest a plan, and help guide big company changes.

The column says AI is already good at many classic consulting tasks. That includes reading lots of documents, spotting patterns across companies, and producing clear summaries and recommendations. It can even help create presentation slides, which is a common consulting deliverable.

But the author argues that the hardest part is not writing the plan. The hardest part is getting people inside the company to agree, share what they know, and follow through. One BCG leader is quoted saying the advantage is “how well you orchestrate change,” and a former consultant describes the job as a “contact sport,” meaning it depends on face-to-face trust and persuasion.

An economist cited in the piece adds another reason AI may struggle here. Much of the information needed for a real company overhaul is scattered across people’s heads, and some of it only comes out in conversations. It is like trying to write a complete instruction manual for a messy workplace when the manual does not exist yet.

What to watch

Even if consultants keep a role, the column suggests the industry will likely get smaller. Consulting firms may also change how they charge, moving away from billing by time and toward charging for results.

Source: Financial Times