Why AI is primed to be a huge benefit — and a major liability — for consulting’s Big Four
KPMG is one of several consulting firms helping businesses make sense of tariffs.Liam McBurney/PA Images via Getty Images
Welcome back to our Sunday edition, where we round up some of our top stories and take you inside our newsroom. Elon Musk’s foray into politics was the final straw for Mahican Gielen. She traded in her beloved Model 3 for a BYD Sealion 7 Excellence. She said she’s overall happy with her new purchase, but there are a few Tesla features she misses.
On the agenda today:
But first: AI meets the consulting giants.
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Polly, how do you size up AI adoption inside the Big Four? Is it more hype and hope, or embrace and happening?
Big Four firms are resting their futures on AI and have poured billions into developing in-house solutions. Employees don’t have much choice but to embrace it — the messaging is to learn AI or get left behind — and their Fortune 500 clients will be following their lead. We’ll see how quickly their efforts generate returns.
Tell us more about how AI is both an opportunity and, in some ways, an existential threat.
Consultants specialize in guiding companies through transformations, which means AI presents plenty of opportunities for the Big Four. They face a balancing act between meeting that demand and handling the massive upheaval that AI will bring to their operating models, leadership structures, and job roles.
What have you been learning about smaller consulting firms challenging the bigger rivals?
Midsize firms are in a sweet spot right now. Consultants increasingly are expected to become specialized and offer deep sector expertise — a demand many of these firms already fill. AI is also poised to help boost their productivity and widen their reach without the need to invest in a vast workforce. They see this as their opportune moment. That said, the midsize firms I’ve spoken to aren’t aiming to be the next Big Four.
What are the other top-of-mind topics in your coverage?
I want to dig into how these industry shake-ups affect employees at every level of the chain. How should firms train junior employees as AI takes on more? Why are some execs shunning high-paid partnerships? Is there a tech talent war coming at the Big Four? If anyone wants to reach out to me about those questions, email pthompson@businessinsider.com!
Getty images; Tyler Le/BI
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