Consulting Just Hit Its AI Moment

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Gigabit Systems
January 23, 2026
20 min read
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Consulting Just Hit Its AI Moment

McKinsey quietly confirmed what the entire professional services industry has been trying to deny:

AI isn’t assisting consultants anymore — it’s becoming one.

The numbers tell the story.

McKinsey now counts 65,000 “workers”:

  • 40,000 humans

  • 25,000 AI agents

That’s not a metaphor. That’s their internal headcount.

According to CEO Bob Sternfels, AI is already embedded in the firm’s core operations:

  • 40% of client projects use AI

  • 2.5 million charts generated in 6 months

  • 1.5 million human hours saved annually

  • Goal: 1 AI agent per human

This isn’t an experiment. It’s a structural rewrite.

The Quiet Death of Entry-Level Consulting

McKinsey didn’t announce mass layoffs.

They did something more disruptive.

They erased the bottom rung.

The work that used to define junior consultants is now automated:

  • Desk research

  • Slide drafting

  • Data cleaning

  • First-pass analysis

All of it happens instantly, at machine speed.

Humans no longer “pay their dues” doing busywork.

They jump straight to judgment, synthesis, and decision-making.

That changes everything about careers, leverage, and pricing.

This Isn’t About Productivity — It’s About Power

Most firms use AI to cut costs.

McKinsey is using it to change what a firm is.

They’re building an organization that can:

  • Scale without hiring

  • Serve more clients with the same headcount

  • Recompose teams on demand

  • Price outcomes, not hours

At that point, consulting stops behaving like a labor business.

It starts behaving like software.

High margins.

High leverage.

Low friction.

Why This Matters Far Beyond McKinsey

This isn’t just a consulting story.

It’s a preview of the future of work.

  • Humans won’t execute

  • Humans will direct, judge, and decide

  • AI will handle everything else

Firms that understand this early will compound faster than anyone expects.

Firms that don’t will keep hiring juniors…

to compete with machines that never sleep.

The Bottom Line

AI isn’t “coming for jobs.”

It’s removing ladders.

And the firms that survive won’t be the biggest employers —

they’ll be the best orchestrators of intelligence.

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#AI #FutureOfWork #Consulting #Automation #Cybersecurity

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