The Consulting Shakeup: Why AI Tools Won’t Save You (But Judgment Might)
As flashy AI wrappers flood the consulting world, real value lies not in the tool - but in how you use it.
There’s a shift happening in the consulting world - one so deep that no amount of “wrapping” ChatGPT in enterprise software will hide it.
James O’Dowd’s viral LinkedIn post hit a nerve by calling out the “mediocre, overpriced wrappers” sold as AI innovation. According to him, the flood of tools in the consulting space has been mostly hype over substance—public LLMs given new logos and interfaces, but with little proprietary differentiation. His argument? The next wave of winners in consulting won’t be defined by the tools they have, but by their expertise in using them.
The comments that followed painted an even richer, more nuanced picture of what this AI-infused future really looks like. Here’s what they reveal—and why this conversation matters more than ever.
The Tools Are Getting Cheaper, the Judgment Isn’t
Several professionals echoed James’ main point: the scarcity won’t be in the tech, it’ll be in the talent.
Adam Olsen noted that “AI is leveling the tech playing field,” which will only increase the demand for high-caliber advisory work. In his view, the winners won’t be loud about their AI—they’ll be sharp in guiding others through it.
Ruby He agreed, warning that flashy tools alone won’t cut it. “It’s about how to apply AI, never about how fancy AI is,” she wrote. This is a consistent refrain: it's not about the interface, it's about insight.
Michael Lamoureux, a sourcing and procurement tech expert, added a sharper edge. He criticized AI products as “drunken plagiarist interns,” highlighting the dangers of over-relying on tech that can be convincingly wrong. His take is sobering: “You don’t have to worry about when they’re right—you have to worry about when they’re wrong, but sound right.” Domain expertise becomes essential not just for using AI, but for cleaning up after it.
From Big Consulting to Micro-Consulting
Christopher Finn raised a question few traditional firms want to confront: Can large consulting firms transition away from the pyramid model they’re built on?
Many believe the answer is no—or at least not fast enough.
Robert Cooper sees an opportunity for “smaller, focused teams” to finally go head-to-head with legacy firms. AI, he argues, unlocks capabilities that once required huge teams. Others, like Phil Reed, suggest we’re headed for a “breakup of Big Consulting into micro consultancies,” mirroring the e-commerce revolution two decades ago.
This shift won’t just be organizational—it’s strategic. Dawn Rennick pointed out that “lifestyle consultants” who’ve built their practices on resilience, purpose, and expertise are uniquely positioned to thrive. In a world where AI handles grunt work, the humans who remain must be excellent at what machines can't do.
Judgment, Not Just Automation
AI won't replace consultants—but it will audit them.
This observation, shared by Weddy Diamada and echoed by many, might be the most brutal truth yet. AI is already revealing who adds value and who was coasting.
Trisha S. warned of consulting firms building AI tools with “limited real-world industry or domain knowledge,” delivering “overpriced, wireframed POCs” with no depth. Her call is clear: without experience, AI is just theater.
Similarly, Abhishek Kumar described the illusion of “proprietary advantage” as a trap. Real impact comes from integrating AI with human insight, nuance, and strategic context—not from chasing novelty.
The Platform Matters, But It’s Not Everything
Tony Bain introduced an important technical perspective: not all “wrappers” are created equal. A good platform, he argued, does much more than slap a UI on an LLM. It includes orchestration layers, RAG tuning, feedback loops, security protocols, and robust governance. Innovation pace also matters—“a working demo today can become legacy in months.”
But even he agreed: platforms win only if they evolve fast and adapt to user feedback. A shiny dashboard won’t save a bad product—or a weak team.
This ties to Nikolay Sudarikov’s comment on emerging deep vertical tools like Hypothesis3. These are not built overnight and are often far outside Big Tech’s focus. His argument? Some of the real innovation will come from long-tail, high-specialization platforms, not the generic giants.
Domain Expertise: The Final Frontier
There’s a recurring skepticism in the comments about who gets to call themselves an AI expert. Iliya Rybchin offered one of the most blunt critiques: many “AI leaders” in consulting firms had zero relevant experience before 2022. A Coursera badge doesn’t replace a decade in the field. This disconnect, he warns, is why so many clients end up with “sexy-sounding AI projects that add zero business value.”
He’s not wrong. The mismatch between tech knowledge and industry depth is one of the biggest risks in this transition.
Ben Drumm raised another concern: outdated or poor-quality data leading to misinformed decisions. AI might be powerful, but if the inputs are flawed, the insights will be too. This brings us back to judgment: knowing which data matters, and how to use it wisely.
Consulting’s Future Is Not Tech-First—It’s Tech-Enabled
Several voices, including Des Viranna, argued that we’re at a critical inflection point. The real opportunity lies not in going “tech-first” but “tech-enabled.” Firms need to adapt their ways of working—not just digitize them. If you take an old model and add AI, all you get is faster dysfunction.
What we need, says Agnieszka Krukowska, is to “amplify expertise, not replace it.” Her firm, annimoIQ, is built on that very belief.
This is perhaps the clearest takeaway: AI won’t define the winners. Leadership will. Relevance will. Human thinking—elevated by AI—will.
So, What Happens Next?
Here are five questions the industry should be asking right now:
Are your consultants still selling headcount, or are they selling outcomes?
Can your team actually use AI, or are they still stuck on writing prompts?
Is your AI product built with real domain knowledge—or just design flair?
What part of your process genuinely benefits from AI, and what needs human intuition?
Are you hiring real technologists, or just rebranding slide-makers?
Because let’s be honest: most clients don’t care how your tool works. They care whether you solve their problem.
Final Thought
James O’Dowd summed it up best: “The tools will be cheap. The talent won’t.” AI is not a savior. It’s a mirror. It will expose bloat, fake expertise, and inflated value props—and it will reward judgment, precision, and credibility.
Consulting firms that don’t evolve risk becoming obsolete. But for the sharp, curious, and agile? AI is the ultimate amplifier.
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