The future of consulting: Position to survive in an AI world

AI isn’t coming for your job. It’s already here, raiding the fridge, lounging on your sofa and eyeing up your best clients. If you think your charm and experience alone will keep you safe, think again. The future of consulting won’t wait for you to catch up. If you’re still playing by yesterday’s rules, you’re already losing.

So, what’s the move? Cross your fingers and hope clients prefer handshakes over hyper-efficient algorithms? Or double down on what makes your consultancy untouchable - human ingenuity, razor-sharp thinking and the kind of strategy that makes AI look like a glorified calculator?

Let’s get into it.

Differentiate or disappear (no, seriously)

AI-powered consultancies are already undercutting traditional firms. Automated tools can analyse data, optimise business processes, generate reports and churn out insights faster than a consultant on their fourth espresso. If your pitch is still built on efficiency, cost reduction or "bespoke solutions," you’re in trouble.

Clients don’t care about processes - they care about outcomes. The future of consulting belongs to companies that:

• Bring irreplaceable industry experience – AI can process data, but it can’t replace decades of lived expertise (yet).
• Deliver strategic foresight – AI tells you what happened. You tell clients what’s next and how to win.
• Turn insights into action – AI spits out recommendations. You make transformation happen, even when clients are kicking and screaming.

If your consultancy isn’t positioned as something AI can’t replicate, you’re already in a race to the bottom. And trust me, you don’t want to win that race.

The cheat code AI will never crack

AI can crunch numbers, but it can’t inspire, connect or lead. The real currency in the future of consulting is the human element - the skills that automation will never master:

• Creative problem-solving – AI operates on patterns. Human consultants break them. The best solutions don’t come from data alone; they come from messy, unpredictable, off-the-wall thinking.
• Emotional intelligence – Clients don’t just need insights. They need trusted advisors who understand their fears, ambitions and last-minute panic attacks before a big pitch. Empathy builds trust. Trust wins business.
• Big-picture thinking – AI can optimise, but it takes a visionary consultant to see the real opportunity and shake things up.

If you’re not doubling down on these irreplaceable strengths, you might as well start taking CV-writing tips from ChatGPT.

Innovate or get left in the dust

The future of consulting isn’t about resisting AI - it’s about adapting faster than your competitors. The firms that thrive will be the ones who:

• Continuously reinvent their services – Clinging to outdated models is like insisting MySpace will make a comeback. Be the consultancy that disrupts itself before someone else does.
• Leverage AI instead of fearing it – Let automation handle the grunt work. You focus on high-value moves like strategy, execution and convincing clients you had the right idea all along.
• Build platforms for relentless innovation – Static systems kill ideas. Create dynamic spaces where teams and clients can experiment, break things, learn fast and build smarter. Innovation needs room to breathe – give it oxygen.
• Obsess over what’s next – If you’re not keeping tabs on industry shifts, emerging tech and evolving client needs, you’re already behind.

Complacency is a consultancy’s silent killer. The firms that experiment, evolve and push boundaries will own the future. The rest? Well, let’s just say nostalgia for “the good old days” doesn’t pay the bills.

AI won’t replace consultants. But it will replace some.

AI isn’t the enemy - it’s a tool. The consultancies that win will be the ones who know how to use it without losing their edge. Let AI handle the repetitive, soul-destroying tasks. You focus on what machines can’t: vision, strategy and building relationships that actually mean something.

By doing so, you’ll open up a wide range of new business opportunities that your competitors won’t even see coming.

The question isn’t whether consulting will change. It’s whether you’re ready to change with it.

Ready to future-proof your consultancy?

Book a Positioning Primer with Matt and discover how to sharpen your messaging, amplify your positioning and ensure your consultancy stays indispensable - no matter how advanced AI gets.

Let’s lead the damn way.