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By TJ SoftUpdated:

AI Consulting – How Artificial Intelligence Is Transforming Business

AI konsulting – Jak sztuczna inteligencja zmienia biznes

For decades, consulting was associated with “armies of people” who analyzed data and created reports and presentations for the executives of the largest companies. However, in 2025, the industry reached a turning point. The development of artificial intelligence and automation is driving a profound transformation of the traditional consulting model. The biggest players—from McKinsey, Boston Consulting Group, and Bain to Deloitte, PwC, EY, and KPMG—are investing vast sums in technologies and people capable of leveraging them. Accenture and the concept of “reinventors” introduced by the company have become symbols of this change.

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Layoffs at Accenture and “reinventors”

Accenture, the technology and consulting giant, employs hundreds of thousands of people worldwide. In 2025, the company took drastic steps: within three months, it laid off 11,000 employees, openly stating that they had been unable to reskill for the age of artificial intelligence. At the same time, 77,000 employees already possess AI and data skills — nearly twice as many as two years earlier. Generative AI projects accounted for $5.1 billion in new contracts in 2024 (compared with $3 billion the previous year).

Accenture promotes the concept of reinventors—people who can navigate the new technological reality by combining business knowledge with the practical application of AI. The company invests heavily in training because it realizes that the market does not wait for those who fail to keep up with change.

Reinventors

The term “reinventors” (“renewers,” “those undergoing transformation”) is used to describe employees who:

  • not only can they acquire new competencies (e.g. in AI, machine learning, data processing, and automation),
  • but they can also combine them with business, process, and industry knowledge — in other words, build bridges between AI and clients’ real-world challenges,
  • flexibly change roles, rotate between projects, and learn on the job,
  • understand the limitations, risks, and opportunities of AI: e.g. interpreting model results, ethics, data limitations, and integrating technology into clients’ systems.

Accenture is betting that the market no longer needs merely “consultants + IT specialists,” but people who can reinvent themselves and the service delivery model, hence the combination of all departments into a single Reinvention Services unit.

What exactly are consulting firms?

Consulting firms provide advisory services to other organizations. Their role is to diagnose problems, identify solutions, and support implementation. Consultants analyze data, develop strategies, and help clients improve processes, connect technology with business, enter new markets, or carry out mergers. They employ experts in various fields—finance, strategy, technology, taxation, and digital transformation—and thus offer a broad range of services.

Other Consulting Firms: The Big Three, Four, Five, or Eight

Over the decades, the number of firms considered the most important in consulting has changed. For some reason, people concerned with consulting firms like big numbers. For example, the Big Four.

In the second half of the 20th century, people spoke of the “Big Eight,” comprising the largest audit and advisory firms. Over time, as a result of mergers and consolidation, this group was reduced to the “Big Five,” which included Arthur Andersen. Following its spectacular collapse in 2002, the term “Big Four” (Deloitte, PwC, EY, and KPMG) began to be used; it continues to dominate the audit and advisory services sector to this day. At the same time, the “Big Three” (MBB: McKinsey, BCG, and Bain) emerged in the field of strategic consulting, bringing together firms specializing in working with the management boards of the largest corporations. Alongside them are other large global entities, such as Accenture, which combine consulting with technology and are redefining the market. As a result, the consulting industry is dynamic, with the number and role of its largest players changing alongside economic and technological development.

A Quick Look at the Consulting Market.

Looking at the global consulting market, it is clear that although hundreds of thousands of consulting firms operate in it, the largest players capture a huge share of the industry’s total value. Analysts’ estimates (including those from Source Global Research and Statista) indicate that the consulting services market is worth approximately USD 1 trillion annually in 2024–2025.

  • The Big Four (Deloitte, PwC, EY, KPMG) – together account for approximately 35–40% of the global consulting and audit market’s revenue. Each firm reports annual revenue of USD 38–67 billion, with employment ranging from 275,000 to over 460,000 people.
  • MBB (McKinsey, BCG, Bain) – although these firms are much smaller in terms of headcount, they have an enormous influence on the strategy consulting market. The trio’s combined revenue is approximately USD 36–38 billion, and their share of the global market is around 3–5%; however, they are absolute leaders in the strategy segment and serve the largest corporations and governments.
  • Accenture – this is a separate case, as it combines consulting with technology. With revenue exceeding USD 64 billion and nearly 800,000 employees, it is one of the world’s largest consulting and technology firms. On its own, it accounts for approximately 6–7% of the entire global market.

The rest of the market is highly fragmented: thousands of small and medium-sized companies serve local customers or specialize in niches (e.g., IT consulting, logistics, ESG). This means that despite the strong position of the giants, there is always room for specialized boutique firms that can compete through flexibility and expertise in selected areas.

McKinsey & Company

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McKinsey is the most recognizable brand in strategic consulting. It employs approximately 45,000 people and generates around $16 billion in annual revenue. The firm is renowned for its elite recruitment and “up-or-out” career model, and its former consultants often go on to join the management boards of the largest corporations or government institutions. In 2025, McKinsey is integrating AI into its analyses and products more extensively, combining traditional strategy with modern data tools.

Boston Consulting Group (BCG)

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Founded in 1963, BCG is known for its innovative management concepts. In 2024, the firm recorded $13.5 billion in revenue (+10% year over year) and employed 33,000 people. Importantly, as much as 20% of its revenue came from artificial intelligence-related services. This shows that AI is becoming a pillar of strategy even for traditional consulting.

Bain & Company

Bain is the smallest member of the “Big Three” (MBB). It generates approximately $7 billion in revenue and employs around 19,000 people. The firm stands out for its close collaboration with clients and strong position in the private equity sector. Its consultants often participate not only in designing strategies but also in implementing them.

Big Four: Deloitte, PwC, EY, KPMG

Deloitte

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The largest of the “Big Four” — in 2024, it generated $67.2 billion in revenue and employed 460,000 people. The company operates in more than 150 countries and combines audit, tax, and advisory services with technology services.

PwC

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PwC recorded revenues of $55.4 billion in 2024 and employs approximately 370,000 people. The company is actively expanding its ESG and sustainable business services.

EY

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EY recorded $51.2 billion in revenue in 2024 (+3.8%). Global employment declined slightly, but the company is investing heavily in digital transformation and technology consulting.

KPMG

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KPMG ended 2024 with revenues of $38.4 billion (+5.4%) and employed 275,288 people. The firm is particularly developing its tax and technology capabilities.

From the “Big Five” to a New Era

At the beginning of the 21st century, there was still what was known as the “Big Five”: Deloitte, PwC, EY, KPMG, and Arthur Andersen. The collapse of Andersen following the Enron scandal in 2002 means that today we speak of the “Big Four.” Interestingly, today’s Accenture grew out of Arthur Andersen’s consulting division.

AI Era Consulting

The year 2025 shows that consulting is changing irreversibly:

  • AI as a new pillar – BCG already generates 20% of its revenue from AI-related services
  • Redefining work – Accenture is focusing on “reinventors,” eliminating those who fail to keep up with change.
  • Scale and specialization – Deloitte and PwC employ hundreds of thousands of people, but McKinsey and Bain still retain their position as elite advisers to executive boards.

The Landscape of Polish Consulting

Dominance of International Giants

In Poland, global firms’ offices hold the largest share of the market. Deloitte, PwC, EY and KPMG (the Big Four) have offices in Warsaw, Kraków, Wrocław, Katowice and Gdańsk, employing thousands of people. They provide services to international corporations as well as Polish listed companies, large family-owned businesses and the public sector. McKinsey, BCG and Bain also have operations in Poland—McKinsey operates, among other places, in Warsaw and Wrocław, while BCG and Bain serve Poland’s largest companies and banks.

Polish Consulting Firms

Alongside global brands, local consulting firms are developing, often specializing in specific niches:

  • ICAN Institute (formerly Harvard Business Review Poland) – a renowned training and consulting firm focused on management development and the implementation of the latest management practices.
  • House of Skills – specializes in development consulting, leadership training, and organizational change.
  • Kozminski Business Hub – affiliated with Kozminski University, it combines academic activities with business consulting.
  • Simon-Kucher Poland – although it is an international firm, its Polish branch has gained significant independence in the areas of pricing consulting and sales strategy.
  • DZP Consulting (at the Domański Zakrzewski Palinka law firm) – supports transformation and investment projects, combining legal and business consulting.
  • Locally specialized boutique firms – there are many smaller firms in Poland, for example, focusing on ESG consulting, digital transformation, obtaining EU funding, or IT implementations (e.g., Stratosfera, EY-Parthenon Poland, Altkom).

Synerise

Synerise is a Polish technology company that is not a traditional consulting firm, but operates at the intersection of consulting and modern IT solutions. It specializes in using artificial intelligence and big data to automate marketing, personalize customer communications, and analyze consumer behavior. Through its proprietary AI platform, Synerise helps businesses make better strategic decisions based on real-time data. In this sense, it performs a function similar to consulting—it provides tools and know-how that support companies in their digital transformation and in improving the efficiency of their business operations.

Shared Services Centers and Consulting Outsourcing

In Poland, global companies’ competence centers are also thriving, supporting advisory projects around the world. One example is the McKinsey Knowledge Center in Wrocław, which conducts analyses and research for projects in Europe and the USA. As a result, Poland is becoming a consulting hub for the entire Central and Eastern Europe.

Specifics of the Polish Market

  • Price and flexibility – Polish consulting firms are often less expensive than global giants, giving them an advantage when working with medium-sized companies.
  • Understanding of local conditions – Polish advisors have a better understanding of the market’s regulatory, financial, and cultural specifics, which is particularly important in the SME sector.
  • Dynamic development of the IT and AI sectors – many Polish consulting firms combine traditional consulting with technology (e.g., ERP and CRM implementations, process automation, and data science).

Is This the End of “Traditional” Consulting Based on “Armies of People”?

In my opinion: not necessarily a complete end, but a very profound and lasting transformation, with significant consequences. Here are the directions I see as the most likely:

Pressure for Efficiency and Automation

The traditional consulting model largely relied on “armies of people”: analysts, consultants, and specialists who time-consumingly conducted analyses, wrote reports, and modeled processes. In the AI era, many of these tasks can be automated or supported in a hybrid manner, which means that fewer people are needed for “standard” tasks and more for high-value tasks (strategy, transformation, innovation).

Consultants must work in a “human + AI” model, not “human vs AI.”

The Growing Role of Platforms, Tools (Assets), and Intellectual Products

Consulting firms will have to develop their own AI tools, platforms, and models (assets), and sell products + services rather than purely service-based labor. Accenture’s Reinvention Services is an example of how integrating technology, consulting, and operations can enable the delivery of integrated AI solutions.

This means that competitive advantage will increasingly depend on what “assets,” algorithms, integrations, and data models a company has, rather than on the number of consultants.

Smaller Teams, Greater Specialization

There will be a greater need for smaller but specialized teams of AI experts, data engineers, implementation specialists, change management professionals, and systems architects who can work across disciplines. The role of “masses of consultants” will diminish.

Risk of Polarization: Winners and Losers

Not all consultants will survive this transformation, as evidenced by Accenture’s 11,000 layoffs. Those who are unable to adapt may be marginalized. On the other hand, specialists who develop AI + business + integration competencies will be in demand.

Consulting still has a role to play, but its nature is changing

I do not expect consulting to disappear, but it will change:

  • Clients will want partners who understand both technology and business
  • Competition will come not only from consulting firms, but also from technology companies, AI platforms, and startups
  • Consulting will be less about labor and more about creation, transformation, implementation, and organizational adaptation
  • The billing model may change: not an hourly rate / consultant day rate, but outcomes, project successes, and subscriptions to AI solutions

What Accenture is doing today may be part of a broader trend

If consulting industry leaders (Accenture, McKinsey, BCG, Deloitte, etc.) continue down a similar path, the “army of people” model as a source of scale advantage will cease to be a competitive advantage.

How AI Enables Smaller Companies to Conduct Consulting Research Themselves

Artificial intelligence clearly lowers the barrier to entry for smaller consulting firms and increasingly enables them to conduct research and analyses that, just a few years ago, required huge teams and budgets. This is happening for several reasons:

Automating Data Collection and Analysis

AI can analyze hundreds of reports, articles, or databases in a short time—materials that were once manually processed by junior consultants. As a result, small companies can prepare market reports, benchmarks, or trend analyses more quickly without hiring hundreds of analysts.

Access to enterprise-grade tools

Not long ago, only firms like McKinsey or Deloitte could invest millions in Big Data analytics systems. Today, many such capabilities are available off the shelf in AI-powered tools—from cloud solutions (e.g., Google Cloud, Microsoft Azure) to specialized applications for financial analysis or strategy. This levels the playing field for smaller companies competing with major players.

Faster Prototyping and Simulations

Generative AI enables the creation of strategic scenarios, forecasts, and market simulations that smaller consultancies can use to present clients with alternative development paths. Something that once required weeks of work can now be done in a few days.

Lower operating costs

Thanks to AI, small businesses do not need to build large hierarchies made up of junior staff, analysts, and consultants. They can operate in small teams of experts, supported by AI tools, and offer competitive prices to clients for whom the services of giants are too expensive.

New Market Niches

AI enables smaller companies to specialize in niche areas (e.g., ESG, cybersecurity, and medical data analysis), gaining a competitive advantage by combining expert knowledge with analytical tools.

At the same time, it is worth remembering that AI does not fully replace consulting. The largest firms still have an advantage thanks to:

  • global networks of contacts,
  • access to unique data,
  • a recognizable brand and reputation,
  • experience in leading large-scale transformations.

AI does, however, enable smaller teams to deliver “mini-McKinsey” services for mid-sized and local clients—faster, more affordably, and often more flexibly.

How Artificial Intelligence Enables Companies to Conduct Consulting Analyses Independently

A New Opportunity for Entrepreneurs

Just a few years ago, conducting an in-depth analysis of the market, competition, or internal processes required hiring an expensive consulting firm. Today, thanks to the development of artificial intelligence, an increasing number of tools enable business owners to independently prepare reports, forecasts, or action strategies. AI will not completely replace consultants, but it gives smaller companies access to tools that were previously beyond their reach.

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Market and Competitor Analysis

One of the key areas where AI makes a difference is market environment analysis. Artificial intelligence–based tools can gather data on competitors within minutes: what products they offer, how they set prices, and which marketing channels work best. Platforms such as Similarweb, Semrush, and Ahrefs use AI to analyze web traffic and the effectiveness of advertising activities. As a result, the owner of a medium-sized company can independently prepare a market report that once would have required a team of analysts.

It is becoming increasingly clear that artificial intelligence–based tools are beginning to serve as “mini consultants or analysts” for smaller companies. ChatGPT in agent mode can act as a virtual advisor that not only answers questions but also independently performs analytical tasks and organizes data. Manus AI and Perplexity AI enable the rapid collection of information from multiple sources, the summarization of reports, and the creation of strategic recommendations. Thanks to them, a small-business owner can quickly prepare a market analysis, business forecasts, or marketing ideas without employing large teams of consultants. This makes access to knowledge and advisory tools more democratic than ever before.

Control over data

Artificial intelligence also makes it easier to work with your own data. Tools such as Power BI with Copilot or Tableau with AI modules can automatically create dashboards, detect trends, and suggest possible conclusions. In practice, this means that an entrepreneur can easily check which products generate the highest margins, how demand changes over time, or where the company is losing money. Simply upload an Excel spreadsheet, and AI will prepare visualizations and forecasts.

Business Forecasts and Scenarios

Generative AI enables the creation of “what if?” scenarios. An entrepreneur can ask the system how a 5% price increase will affect sales or what will happen if they open a new distribution channel. Such simulations do not provide complete certainty, but they help view the company from different perspectives and make strategic decisions more quickly.

Marketing and Customer Research

AI also supports the marketing area. Customer behavior analysis tools, such as Hotjar with artificial intelligence modules, make it possible to check how users navigate the website. In turn, survey systems integrated with AI, such as Survicate, help analyze customer responses and automatically identify the most important insights. In addition, there are generative tools, such as ChatGPT and Jasper AI, which can prepare initial communication strategies or campaign proposals.

Process Optimization

Internal company processes can also be improved with the help of artificial intelligence. OCR systems analyze invoices and detect errors, AI in ERP systems suggests ways to reduce costs, and algorithms for managing working time indicate where the team loses the most hours. As a result, a small business can identify its own “bottlenecks” and eliminate them.

Limits of Possibility

However, it is important to remember that AI will not solve everything. The quality of the recommendations depends on the quality of the data provided by the entrepreneur. Artificial intelligence will suggest figures and scenarios, but final strategic decisions require the owner’s experience, industry knowledge, and intuition. Large consulting firms still have an advantage in the form of unique databases, global contacts, and experience in managing complex transformations.

Summary

Consulting today stands on the threshold of a new era. The traditional model based on “armies of people” is increasingly giving way to specialized teams working in a “human + AI” model. The biggest players, from McKinsey and BCG, through Deloitte, PwC, EY, and KPMG, to Accenture, are investing vast resources in technologies and in people who know how to use them. Accenture and its concept of “reinventors”—employees capable of combining business knowledge with the practical application of artificial intelligence—have become a symbol of this change.

For smaller companies, and even for individual entrepreneurs, AI has become a tool democratizing access to analyses, forecasts, and strategies. Thanks to it, a significant portion of the work once entrusted to major consultants can now be done independently—faster, more affordably, and with greater flexibility. This does not mean the end of consulting, but rather its profound transformation: from work based on numbers and manual analysis to an era of integrated platforms, intellectual products, and technology partnerships. The future will belong to those who can adapt and find their place in the new model—to the reinventors.