If AI can do 50% of your delivery work, what should your consultants do instead?

There's been a lot of talk about AI "coming for consulting jobs" recently. In fact, last month I was joined by Prof. Joe O'Mahoney for a live podcast episode entitled 'The Death of Consulting' - a bit of a grim view.

But don't worry - between us, we determined that AI is not the death of consulting. It's not coming for consulting jobs.

But it is coming for consulting work.

You'll have likely seen the engine room getting faster and cheaper (and quieter) as tasks like data crunching and slide decks are handed off to AI.

So if AI replaces half of the work your consultants used to do, then what replaces it?

How you answer this can have a significant impact on margins.

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Don't make this mistake

As Prof. Joe explained, a lot of firms are having two different reactions to AI: tool obsession (i.e. "If we roll out Copilot / GPT, we're done!) and efficiency panic (i.e. "Awesome, we can do the same work with fewer people!")

But both of these miss the point - that AI isn't changing how fast the work gets done, but what clients are willing to pay humans for.

So if your consultants are still primarily valued for...

• producing decks
• running analysis
• synethsizing information

...then AI has already begun to erode your perceived value.

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What stops, what stays, and what scales?

A good place to start before you redesign any roles is to be honest about where AI already outperforms humans - leading us into...

1) The work that should largely stop

AKA: the invisible but billablework that AI now (largely) does better. For example:

• First-pass research and benchmarking
• Data cleaning and basic analysis
• Drafting standard reports, proposals, decks etc.
• Reformatting & polishing docs

If your junior consultants are still spending most of their week here, your operating model is likely outdated.

2) The work that should stay human

Consultants still earn their seat at the table - by:

• Problem framing (i.e. deciding what to analyze)
• Making judgement calls in the face of ambiguity
• Contextualizing insights to a specific client reality
• Navigating politics, resistance, trade-offs etc.
• Making recommendations that carry risk

While AI can certainly help inform these decisions, it can't own them.

3) The work that should scale

This area is critical - because it's where the majority of firms are currently under-investing:

• Client-facing synthesis / storytelling
• Facilitating decisions (rather than just presenting options)
• Designing change (rather than just diagnosing issues)
• Trabslating insights into execution
• Coaching clients through consequences

This is the work that clients truly feelthe value in, and as such, pay for.

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What does this mean for consultant roles?

While AI won't flatten your firm, it'll more than likely have some impact on career paths. Let's look at this by level:

Junior consultants

Their old value: fast hands and sharp analaysis

Their new value: problem literacy and insight translation

Some practical shifts:

• Less time producing outputs
• More time understanding client context
• Earlier exposure to client conversations
• Training in asking better questions - not just building better slides!

Mid-level consultants / managers

Their old value: quality control and project management

Their new value: sense-making and decision support

Some practical shifts:

• Owning the narrative (not just the workplan)
• Using AI to explore options faster
• Stress-testing recommendations
• Helping clients choose (not just understand)

Partners / execs

Their old value: relationships and sales

Their new value: judgement, accountability and trust

Some practical shifts:

• Clear positioning on where AI is and isn't used
• Stronger point of view - moving away from broad offerings
• Leading conversations on trade-offs and risks
• Pricing outcomes rather than effort

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The real opportunity

So, the real opportunity for consulting firms is better consulting, not cheaper consulting.

The firms that are winning won't be the ones who cut the headcount fastest or automate the most tasks. They won't even be the ones who talk about AI the loudest!

Instead, they'll be the ones redefining what their consultants are for.

AI gives consulting firms a rare opportunity. They'll be able to spend less timeproducing and more time with clients, where it actually matters.

But that can only happen if their roles are deliberately redesigned and not left to evolve by accident.

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One final question

If you removed 50% of your consultants' workload tomorrow, would what's left justify your fees?

The answer might make you uncomofortable, and if so, you likely have a role design problem. But it's a problem you still have time to fix.