Adapt or Perish: Why Consulting Firms Must Evolve into AI Expert Systems
For more context on expert systems, see my earlier post titled "The Rise of AI Products" (here).
Consulting firms must adapt to the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) and large language models (LLMs) or risk becoming obsolete. As their clients – mainly enterprises – adopt these advanced technologies, consulting companies need to build expertise in areas like machine learning, neural networks, data science, and other software – especially open source – coding. This will allow them to not only advise clients on AI strategy and implementation, but also develop customized AI-driven solutions tailored to specific industries and business needs.
Providing thought leadership, delivered via newsletters and the like, is no longer sufficient. To truly add value, consulting firms have to walk the walk, which starts with finding ways to leverage AI to access data silos and uncover new insights and deliver actionable analytics from data. Furthermore, they must lead in the delivery of innovative AI-driven initiatives and for their tech-savvy clients. Simply offering AI-powered chatbots, virtual assistants, and other customer experience applications will not be enough. They must push the envelope in the development and delivery of sophisticated AI-powered virtual assistants that are intuitive and capable of responding to complex queries with greater accuracy and context awareness. They must deploy advanced AI in professional development and HR recruiting and planning to create personalized learning platforms and modern HR departments. And they must build AI solutions that address environmental challenges such as optimizing energy consumption, reducing waste and implementing ESG programs.
Their to-do list should include the integration of AI with blockchain for supply chain management, analytics and commerce. Furthermore, they should integrate AI with Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) in virtual environments to make them more immersive and interactive, enhancing training, virtual commerce and remote collaboration experiences.
Moreover, consulting firms need to expand their offerings into emerging areas like AI ethics, bias mitigation, data privacy, and security. Addressing these critical topics will ensure they provide comprehensive, forward-looking solutions that meet evolving client demands.
To guide the leaders, consulting firms must lead by example. Their future lies in transforming themselves into "AI-driven expert systems." By harnessing AI, data, and domain knowledge – all three simultaneously – they can offer highly tailored, valuable strategy consulting services and deploy technology solutions which solve complex problems and make informed decisions across industries. Those that fail to embrace this AI-centric model risk disruption and obsolescence as the consulting landscape is reshaped by technological advancements made by those brave enough to embrace them.