AI is hollowing consulting's edge
Industry watchers argue AI is eroding consulting's 'information advantage', driving layoffs at McKinsey and reducing MBA hiring argued. The claim reframes recruiting and staffing models for MBB—if proprietary intel is cheaper to access, firms must retool value propositions and talent profiles fast.
Bloomberg reported McKinsey leaders discussed cutting about 10% of headcount in non‑client‑facing departments—an action that could translate to “a few thousand” cuts phased over 18–24 months. (bloomberg.com) McKinsey has already trimmed roughly 200 technology roles recently, and employees are increasingly using an internal generative‑AI assistant called "Lilli" to draft proposals and slides. (sightsinplus.com) Bloomberg disclosed a project—codenamed "Argentum"—that contracted close to 150 ex‑MBB consultants to label and train models to perform entry‑level consulting tasks. (bloomberg.com) AlphaSense released a “Deep Research” AI agent that operates over a library the company says includes 500+ million searchable documents, enabling board‑ready briefings and M&A screens in minutes. (alpha-sense.com) IBM’s “Consulting Advantage” platform packages firm IP into role‑based AI assistants and reported pilot productivity gains of up to 50% in application design and testing. (newsroom.ibm.com) Poets & Quants warned in mid‑2024 that McKinsey, Bain and BCG would likely pare full‑time MBA hiring for fall 2024, and outlets documented multiple MBB start‑date delays and redirected offers. (poetsandquants.com) Harvard Business Review described a structural shift in consulting where AI automates junior analyst work, prompting leaner staffing models, while Fast Company framed recent McKinsey moves as a signal that winners will be firms combining execution capability with domain expertise. (hbr.org)
