AI will replace the parts of consulting that look like consulting.
AI will replace the parts of consulting that look like consulting.
So why do companies still pay for the rest?
Most operators are not buying "answers". They are buying a decision that won't fracture the room.
When a CEO says, "We need an AI strategy," the real work is rarely model selection. It is getting finance, ops, legal, and the frontline to agree on what risk they are actually taking.
AI can draft the deck in 10 minutes. It cannot make a VP sign their name under a tradeoff that makes their numbers worse this quarter.
This is why the "AI replaces consultants" take keeps missing the point.
The deliverable is not analysis. The deliverable is alignment under uncertainty: What is true enough to act on What you will not optimize yet What failure looks like, and who owns it
This is where consultants and advisors are priceless, and McKinsey & Company, Bain & Company, Boston Consulting Group (BCG) etc will keep making their good money.
The most expensive part is not the work. It is the moment the room pretends it has agreement, and ships anyway.