For the majority of the past century, a Fortune 500 CEO would turn to McKinsey to determine whether to enter a new market, restructure a division, or weather a downturn.
A group of astute analysts would show up, sometimes literally with rolling luggage, set up in a conference room, and spend months creating slides, running benchmarks, and synthesizing data. The bill would be in the millions. And most of the time, people paid it without hesitation. That image is beginning to appear a little brittle.
| Category | Details |
|---|---|
| Company | McKinsey & Company |
| Founded | 1926 |
| Headquarters | New York, USA |
| Global Offices | 130+ offices across 65+ countries |
| Employees | ~45,000+ worldwide |
| Annual Revenue (Est.) | ~$16 billion (2023) |
| AI Tool | Lilli (Internal AI platform powered by OpenAI API) |
| AI Market Forecast | Global AI consulting market: $11B (2025) → $91B by 2035 |
| Key Competitors | Boston Consulting Group, Bain & Company, Deloitte, AI startups |
| Reference | Harvard Business Review on AI & Consulting |
Something changed in boardrooms somewhere between ChatGPT’s late 2022 launch and the present. The phrase “let’s explore this” gave way to “we’re committed, here’s the budget.” Executives began questioning when the results would eventually become apparent rather than whether AI would transform their companies. And the question is increasingly being posed to the consulting industry itself by external parties.
For about $50 per month, mid-market businesses are purchasing a new class of AI agents—tools that can independently conduct research, synthesize, benchmark, and even suggest strategy. Not fifty thousand dollars. Not $500,000. Fifty dollars. The gap between what McKinsey charges and what these tools cost is so wide it almost feels like a joke. However, it isn’t. It’s a business model that is becoming very popular.
There’s a feeling that the consulting sector is observing this in a manner similar to how newspapers used to observe blogs: initially with contempt, then with increasingly uneasy acknowledgment. The market for AI consulting services is expected to grow at a rate of 26% per year, from $11 billion in 2025 to $91 billion by 2035. It is not a niche.
That is a complete profession’s structural transformation. Additionally, the market for AI agents alone—tools that perform analytical and advisory tasks on their own—is predicted to grow from about $5 billion to $50 billion by 2030. It’s difficult to dispute the math.
The fact that McKinsey isn’t exactly sitting still makes this moment especially intriguing. According to reports, the company has grown to be one of the biggest enterprise users of OpenAI’s API. To provide consultants with quicker responses, the company developed an internal AI platform called Lilli that draws from thousands of proprietary documents, previous engagements, and research databases. Additionally, it has grown through QuantumBlack, its AI and data analytics division, and introduced Agents at Scale, an initiative to integrate autonomous AI into client workflows.
This could be interpreted as McKinsey retaliating. Another interpretation is that McKinsey is subtly demonstrating that AI is not so much a threat to consulting as it is the foundation upon which the entire sector is built. McKinsey is the target of the disruption, not the other way around. Sitting with that line is worthwhile.
However, things become truly unpredictable in the mid-market. Because of the fee structure, a business with $60 million in revenue does not contact McKinsey. However, they do have significant strategic issues. They require operational frameworks, competitive benchmarking, and market analysis. Until recently, they could either figure it out internally or start a smaller boutique business.
There is now a third option: an AI platform that can generate a structured strategic output in less than an hour and costs less per month than a mid-tier hotel room. This client category, which is too small for large firms and too complicated for a spreadsheet, may be the most contentious area in business services at the moment.
European businesses are paying close attention. Businesses there require consultants who can handle AI governance and regulatory compliance in addition to strategy under the EU AI Act and GDPR. This creates a need for a different type of advisor, one who is knowledgeable about both the technology and the legal framework that surrounds it. The race is on, but it’s still unclear who will control that market—new AI-native rivals or established consulting firms.
According to the Harvard Business Review, artificial intelligence (AI) is fundamentally changing the way consulting firms organize their operations by automating research and analysis and shifting human value toward judgment, integration, and change leadership. As they oversee AI-driven workflows and use software to commercialize intellectual property, partners are beginning to resemble product owners rather than project managers. What it means to be a senior consultant has truly changed. It’s difficult to ignore how this alters the career ladder.
The real question is whether or not the clients will follow. A government agency redesigning its service delivery model or a CEO navigating a hostile acquisition still needs a human in the room—someone who can handle egos, read politics, and answer calls at midnight. That is not done by any AI agent. Well, not just yet. However, the calculus is changing quickly for anything less complex than that.
McKinsey will probably be alright. They are investing, making adjustments, and creating the tools themselves. However, the consulting sector as a whole—particularly the mid-tier firms offering custom strategies at premium prices—is venturing into areas where the conventional model just lacks a clear solution. The factories are operating. Slides are still created. The likelihood that no one wrote the first draft at all is simply growing.