With AI, the consulting industry faces an existential crisis beyond technical roles. Traditional strategy and advisory work is now threatened. Check out this episode for 5 takeaways to help you navigate this change…

We Discuss:

• What are consulting firms actually selling in the age of AI?
• Is “strategy through execution” enough going forward, or do consultants need to provide something more?
• Will consulting shift from human meetings to AI-integrated platforms?
• How can consultants avoid becoming commoditized like bank tellers or gas station attendants?
• What role does the human element play as AI capabilities expand?

Key Highlights:

• Consulting firms are experiencing decreased billings, potentially due to AI disruption affecting not just technical roles but now strategy and advisory work (00:03:29)
• The fundamental question is “what are we selling” – frameworks, AI outputs, or something more valuable (00:04:08)
• AI is creating a bifurcation where clients now buy outcomes rather than just thinking, separating average consultants from top performers (00:04:34)
• Lower-value consulting work like managed operations, admin support, and slide creation were perhaps never the best use of expensive consulting firms (00:07:13)
• Consultants still provide value through risk-shifting and accountability that clients seek beyond just capacity or time (00:06:39)
• The human connection and emotional aspect – the “warm fuzzies” – remains valuable as people remember how you made them feel, not just what you told them (00:26:26)
• Future consulting may shift to being integrated into collaborative platforms rather than traditional human meetings, with insights embedded directly into documents (00:27:08)
• The critical skill is knowing which questions to ask – “where to bang the wrench on the engine” – even with advanced AI tools (00:28:20)
• Consultants should work at higher strategic levels, helping clients with their customer relationships, not at levels where “a really good calculator” could do the job (00:29:33)

5 Takeaways:

1. AI is creating a bifurcation in consulting where top performers must shift from selling frameworks and thinking to delivering concrete outcomes and accountability that clients can’t get from AI tools alone.
2. The human element of consulting—building trust, providing emotional support through change, and making clients feel valued—remains critical because people remember how you made them feel more than what you told them.
3. Consultants who survive the AI disruption will be those who know which strategic questions to ask and where to apply their expertise, rather than those who can be replaced by increasingly sophisticated automation.
4. The consulting industry risks commoditization as AI handles lower-value work like slide creation and report generation, forcing professionals to move up the value chain to strategic advisory roles.
5. Future consulting may fundamentally shift from human-to-human meetings to AI-integrated collaborative platforms where advisory insights are embedded directly into the documents and tools clients use daily.

Stories discussed in the episode:

• https://www.linkedin.com/posts/james-o-dowd_a-month-ago-i-highlighted-that-accentures-activity-7341911790261297153-Txpo?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop&rcm=ACoAAABb6A4B6Bfgr3O3JnrFYNVBjrqyKshAVKc
• https://furtheradvisory.com/insights/what-a-successful-advisory-firm-looks-like-in-2026/

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Check out the Audio-Only version of this episode!

Episode 82: The One About AI Coming for Advisory Consulting Jobs