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Surviving as a consultant in an AI world
Less thinking, more doing. And more doing differently.
In February, AI app Perplexity debuted its new ‘Deep Research’ feature, referring to it as ‘McKinsey Consultant as a service.’
Deep Research does indeed act as a junior consultant, conducting research on a question with resulting implications and next steps.
My colleagues and I were discussing what it means for us.
As consultants — should we be worried about our jobs?
If uncovering robust, valuable insights becomes this easy, then more leaders will build strategy this way, and there will be less need for consultants.
All the content how to design your operating model, how to build a brand, how to attract Gen Z consumers — will be available in the time it takes to prompt Perplexity.
Who needs McKinsey?
With so many potential strategies at the ready, the question for managers is not how, but where: Where do I invest my organization’s capital? Where do I prioritize my team’s efforts? Which of the many AI-recommendations do I follow?
Of course, one could ask AI to prioritize the ideas for you: Where’s the best return on capital for a business of such-and-such size attempting…
