Summary: AI agents in consulting are shifting the focus from adoption to measurable value, putting pressure on traditional leverage and repetition models. The firms and leaders who thrive will be those who convert automation into sharper judgment, stronger client outcomes, and more disciplined Partner economics.
AI agents in consulting are everywhere right now.
McKinsey, PwC, EY and BCG have launched thousands. Internal rollouts are measured in tens of thousands. The ambition is clear. The harder question is value.
Bob Sternfels at McKinsey has spoken publicly about tens of thousands of internal agents, with a long-term goal of one per employee.
Inside firms, the conversation has shifted.
Not “How many agents do we have?”
Instead: “What are they actually worth?”
From Adoption to Value
The metrics are evolving.
PwC is moving from counting agents to measuring adoption per agent.
EY is tracking month-to-month impact on productivity, quality and cost efficiency.
BCG is measuring time saved and where that time goes.
BCG has shared indicative numbers:
Around 15% less time on low-value tasks
Roughly 70% of saved time reinvested into higher-value work
About 30% retained as personal time
This is a step forward.
But time saved is not the same as value created.
Consulting is a process, not a tool. AI accelerates mechanics. It does not replace framing, structuring, pressure-testing and defending ideas under challenge.
If AI frees up 10 hours per week, the question is simple:
Is the client outcome 10 hours better?
Leverage, Repetition and the Pyramid Under Strain
Consulting’s model rests on two structural pillars:
• Leverage
• Repetition
Leverage allows partners to multiply judgment through teams.
Repetition allows juniors to build instinct through exposure and iteration.
AI compresses leverage at the base. A partner plus AI can now produce output that previously required a larger pyramid.
Short term, margins improve.
Long term, the apprenticeship engine weakens if not redesigned.
This is consistent with what we are hearing across UK and DACH. AI does not kill consulting. It disrupts the traditional pyramid structure and favours smaller senior teams and expert pods.
The real pressure is not on slides. It is on the leverage and repetition model that built the pyramid in the first place.
Technology cycles have done this before.
Excel in the 1990s:
• Modelling sped up
• Manual number crunching collapsed
• Output expectations increased
Internet in the 2000s:
• Information became public
• Access lost value
• Interpretation became the differentiator
Cloud computing in the 2010s:
• Infrastructure stopped being the bottleneck
• Deployment cycles shortened
• Strategy had to connect to execution
AI in the 2020s:
• Research, synthesis and benchmarking happen in minutes
• Draft analysis is instant
• The lower layers of the pyramid compress
Every cycle squeezes leverage and raises the bar on clarity.
Judgment as the Scarce Asset
AI replaces grunt work:
• Benchmarks
• Market scans
• First-draft synthesis
• Slide production
What remains scarce:
• Asking the right question
• Spotting flawed logic
• Framing ambiguity
• Challenging client assumptions
• Defending recommendations under pressure
AI does not remove the need for consultants. It removes the excuse for weak thinking.
The production layer is commoditising. Judgment is not.
From a hiring perspective, this matters.
Partner and Director hiring is a strategic move, not a seat to fill.
Senior candidates are no longer differentiated by output volume. They are differentiated by:
• Client trust
• Commercial ownership
• Clarity of thought
• Judgment under uncertainty
Firms with a clear AI talent strategy gain delivery leverage. Those without one add tools without changing economics.
AI agents in consulting are a scale story today. They will become a structural story tomorrow.
Consulting is not dying. The old playbook is.
The next model will reward those who combine AI as operating infrastructure with senior judgment as the core asset.
Conclusion
AI is not killing consulting. It is exposing it.
It exposes weak leverage.
It exposes shallow thinking.
It exposes who actually has judgment.
The old pyramid is under pressure.
The next phase rewards smaller teams, sharper framing, and partners who own decisions, not slides.
AI compresses the base.
Judgment compounds at the top.
Ben Appleton is the founder of Strat-Bridge, a specialist executive search partner to the strategy consulting industry. He works with global consulting firms and senior leaders across the UK, Germany, Switzerland, and beyond — helping them build capability at the Partner and Director level.
