How consulting firms can thrive with AI-savvy clients

The past two years have brought an unprecedented surge in demand for AI-related services. For business consulting firms, the AI boom has opened a short-term windfall: clients urgently seeking guidance to navigate an unfamiliar and rapidly evolving landscape.

But with opportunity comes a quiet and growing threat. Many of the capabilities clients traditionally relied on from consultants - like analysing data, identifying insights, even drafting tactical recommendations - are precisely the kinds of tasks that AI apps excel at. As general-purpose models become more capable and accessible, firms risk seeing parts of their value proposition commoditised.

In this new environment, firms that thrive will be those that rethink their role: less as the sole source of expert knowledge, and more as strategic partners who help clients make sense of these technologies and implement them effectively.

In an AI-driven world, your value is no longer what you know, but how deeply you embed that knowledge into your client’s unique reality

AI: A Double-Edged Sword

AI offers consultants extraordinary tools to deliver more value in less time. Routine tasks such as discovery, scoping, analysing numbers and preparing reports can now be done in minutes instead of hours or days, freeing up consultants to focus on what truly differentiates them: creativity, strategy, and client relationships.

At the same time, however, clients are becoming more aware of what AI can do, and they are asking hard questions about fees. Why pay premium rates for work that can, in their eyes, be automated? Why wait weeks for analyses when AI can generate them overnight? This downward price pressure is not hypothetical. It is already appearing in fee negotiations and procurement discussions.

For professional services firms, this means adapting the delivery model: not just cutting costs and passing efficiencies on to clients, but creating space for more impactful, higher-value work that AI cannot replicate.

Five Ways for Consulting Firms to Thrive with AI‑Savvy Clients

In an era where clients understand AI’s capabilities, consulting and professional service firms must go beyond the obvious to demonstrate value. Below are five inventive strategies to remain indispensable even when clients are AI-savvy.

Hyper-Customized AI Insights

Leverage AI for speedy data analysis, but personally tailor each recommendation to the client’s unique business context so your advice feels one-of-a-kind and indispensable.

An accounting firm might use AI to swiftly audit a retailer’s finances, then craft a cash flow plan tailored to that client’s unique seasonal sales cycles.

Embedded AI Partnership

Integrate consultants directly into client teams and workflows, using AI tools side-by-side with staff, so your firm becomes an irreplaceable part of their daily decision-making rather than a distant advisor.

For instance, a consulting firm might embed an expert in a client’s operations department to use AI planning tools with the in-house team, quickly becoming the go-to advisor whenever a complex scheduling issue arises.

Always-On Proactive Advisory

Continuously monitor relevant data using AI and deliver unsolicited recommendations before the client even asks, proving that your foresight and initiative set you apart from any analysis they could run on their own.

A consulting firm’s AI system might predict a supply chain bottleneck, allowing the consultants to alert the client with a fix well before the issue materializes.

Humanized AI Oversight

Act as the human quality-and-ethics layer for AI-driven work by double-checking algorithm outputs, correcting biases, and adding context and judgment so clients fully trust the results in ways they wouldn’t if the insights came solely from a machine.

For instance, an accounting firm’s AI tool might flag irregular transactions, but human auditors review each alert and personally explain the findings to the client, ensuring no context is lost and the client’s confidence stays high.

AI Co-Creation Labs

Invite clients to join hands-on AI “lab” sessions where you build solutions together, so they have direct involvement in a perfectly tailored outcome and can clearly see your innovative value in the process.

A consultancy might hold a joint AI workshop with a client’s team to co-develop a custom analytics tool, giving the client’s staff a stake in the solution and confidence in using it going forward.

Owning the Client Relationship

One lesson from the technology sector is already clear: the firms that thrive are those that own the client relationship, not just the technical solution. OpenAI, for example, is embedding engineers directly into client projects. They do so not just to sell software, but to embed itself as a trusted partner.

For consultants, the same principle applies. Technology may be able to crunch numbers, but it cannot yet build trust, navigate organisational politics, or fully understand the human and cultural side of a business challenge. The deeper and more embedded the relationship, the more resilient a firm will be to automation.

Building that resilience requires more than good intentions. It demands new ways of working: using technology to handle discovery and repetitive analysis, while investing time in advisory, creative, and strategic roles that clients value most.

The firms that thrive are those that own the client relationship, not just the technical solution

The Need for Customisation

Generic AI tools can perform impressively on standard tasks, but most clients are not standard. Every organisation has its own systems, culture, and business goals and expects insights and recommendations that reflect those specifics.

This is where customised insight generation becomes critical. By tailoring analysis to a client’s actual data and context, firms can deliver recommendations that feel directly relevant and actionable, rather than generic. That ability to embed deeply into the client’s world is fast becoming a key differentiator.

Embedding Expertise

Some firms, such as Palantir and OpenAI, are embedding technical staff, so-called "forward-deployed engineers", into client organisations to bridge the gap between technology and implementation. This model has advantages, but it also raises costs and often duplicates effort already present in consulting teams.

An alternative is to equip consultants themselves with tools that make them more effective in these hybrid roles - able to quickly generate client-specific analyses, prepare meetings autonomously, and surface upselling and cross-selling opportunities without needing to embed additional technical staff. This keeps the expertise and the relationship in the hands of the consultants who already understand the client.

Adapting Without Losing Sight of What Matters

OpenAI and other technology firms are not just providing tools; they are competing for the client relationship. That should be a wake-up call for professional services firms. Technology cannot be treated as a back-office function. It needs to be at the heart of the consultant’s toolkit - enabling faster discovery, better insights, and a more consultative approach.

At the same time, consultants must not lose sight of what technology cannot yet replace: judgement, trust, and the ability to help clients navigate the human and organisational complexities of change.

The coming years will not be easy for firms that hope to preserve the status quo. But for those willing to evolve, this period of disruption offers an opportunity to redefine what it means to deliver value in professional services.

Those that embrace efficiency, deepen their client relationships, and clearly articulate where human expertise still makes the difference will be the ones that continue to lead - not just in the age of AI, but beyond.