Commentary
Getting a company to implement recommended changes is a contact sport that only humans can play, says Robert Armstrong for the Financial Times.
FILE PHOTO: Figurines with computers and smartphones are seen in front of the words "Artificial Intelligence AI" in this illustration taken, February 19, 2024. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/ File Photo
09 Aug 2026 06:00AM
NEW YORK: In the age of artificial intelligence, what happens to people who sell the human variety? It’s a pressing question for a lot of professions (not least opinion writers), but is especially acute for strategic consultants, who not only sell ideas but charge a lot for them. In other professional services industries such as law and accounting, the provider is paid in part for taking on legal responsibility. Someone has to sign off on accounts or legal opinions, whether they were drafted by an AI model or not. Strategy advice lacks this virtue. It’s simply good or bad, useful or pointless. If a large language model can do it better, faster or cheaper, we should use the model and fire the consultant.The threat is big, but not necessarily existential. Before saying why, it’s worth being clear about what we mean by strategic consultants, and what they do.
