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According to a 2024 study conducted in the United States, 41% of employers plan to replace employees with artificial intelligence (AI) tools within the year. Whether this prediction comes to fruition or not, the figure is thought-provoking. Furthermore, 64% of managers believe that AI technologies can match or even surpass employee performance.
Should we fear the wave of change brought about by artificial intelligence, a market currently valued at $327.5 billion globally? More specifically, should consultants fear being replaced by increasingly sophisticated algorithms, or should they seize the opportunity to reinvent themselves by leveraging these tools? One thing is certain: AI is redefining the consulting profession. Let’s delve into this timely topic.
Why integrate AI into a consulting firm?
It is no secret that integrating AI into the consulting profession offers a wide range of opportunities.
AI enables significant productivity gains by automating the most repetitive and time-consuming tasks, such as data analysis and report generation. Consultants can then focus on higher-value tasks, such as strategic advice and managing complex projects. AI also supports deliverable creation, note-taking, visual selection, and even commercial strategy. In essence, it helps save time and make more informed decisions.
However, to fully reap these benefits, consulting firms must foster an AI-driven culture, which includes continuous training and the adoption of these new tools. This cultural shift is essential to prevent AI from being perceived merely as a threat or a technical improvement. Instead, it should be positioned as a performance lever integrated into the consultants’ daily practices.
What are the risks of not adopting AI?
For a consulting firm, failing to embrace AI poses significant risks. By ignoring the benefits of this new technology, the firm risks losing competitiveness to more agile competitors who offer superior services through task automation and advanced data analysis.
Consultants may also find themselves falling short of client expectations, as clients increasingly seek solutions aligned with the times. Ultimately, disregarding AI tools may lead to the obsolescence of traditional working methods, harming the firm’s reputation and its ability to attract new talent.
The era of augmented consultants: how AI is transforming the profession
By leveraging AI tools, consulting firms can profoundly transform their daily operations.
Building a commercial offer
By automating the analysis of prospect needs and suggesting the most suitable services, AI facilitates the creation of accurate and personalized commercial offers. This eliminates hours spent interpreting client data, as AI tools can cross-reference collected information with the firm’s services in real-time.
This automation enhances responsiveness and precision while allowing consultants to finalize the offer and focus on the relational and strategic aspects of sales.
Finding the right expertise
With AI, finding the most suitable expertise for a project becomes much easier. By indexing consultants’ CVs and professional histories in a centralized database, AI tools can instantly identify profiles that best meet the specific requirements of each project.
In seconds, these tools analyze criteria such as technical skills, industry experience, and past achievements, enabling managers to build optimal teams without lengthy searches. The result is higher-quality service delivery and improved client satisfaction.
Enhanced document research
AI revolutionizes document research by enabling consultants to quickly access the most relevant information using advanced technologies such as Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG). This approach combines the power of AI models with contextual company databases, ensuring precise and relevant results.
Through intelligent indexing of internal documents, AI analyzes and organizes vast amounts of data from multiple sources, including reports, case studies, and client archives. This contextualization enhances understanding of queries and provides responses tailored to the company’s terminology and specific needs.
By simplifying access to information, AI transforms how consultants leverage their firm’s intellectual capital. They can not only locate documents quickly but also capitalize on accumulated knowledge from past projects. The result: better responsiveness, significant time savings, and higher-quality deliverables.
In a fast-paced environment, the ability to quickly locate the right document becomes a major competitive advantage, boosting both productivity and client satisfaction.
Facilitating deliverable creation
Finally, for creating content such as reports, presentations, or recommendations, AI provides personalized suggestions and can even automatically generate text and visuals. This saves consultants valuable time, allowing them to focus on the strategic and creative aspects of deliverables.
