Let's dig into some of the highly promising applications for genAI in terms of their potential value to a consulting firm.

A catalyst for, and enabler of, new business models and revenue streams. Innovating on the product and service front with subscription-based and outcome-based services is one area where AI can really move the needle for a consulting firm. According to IDC, by the end of 2024, 33% of G2000 companies will exploit innovative business models to double the monetization potential of genAI. Instead of traditional fixed-price or per-hour pricing models, firms are exploring development of services built around their unique intellectual property or expertise, with genAI embedded as part of those offerings, then charging a set subscription fee for them, providing the client with cost certainty and the firm itself with a defined, sustainable revenue stream. A firm with supply chain management expertise could, for example, develop a service designed to curb revenue leakage in transportation/logistics, charging a fee that's scaled to the actual savings it delivers to the customer. Here genAI could work on two levels, providing the firm itself with insight on how to price and structure the service (essentially striking the right balance between risk for the firm and attractive pricing for the customer), while also working as the intelligent engine within the service, providing optimal transportation/logistics pathways based on a huge range of datasets.
Intelligent, comprehensive workforce management. Managing internal and contingent/contractor resources, a persistent headache for many firms, becomes a more streamlined and intelligent process with genAI supporting in various areas. With a given set of parameters and the right prompts, it can perform skill-matching, evaluating skillsets, experience, availability, geography, projects pending and in the pipeline, and other factors, then recommend an optimal mix of in-house and contingent resources. It can recommend an optimal team makeup based on the parameters and priorities of an RFP. It can forecast resource needs and costs based on the project pipeline and prevailing market dynamics, and identify potential skill and resource shortages before they become problematic. When a project manager identifies a need for a resource with a very specific combination of skills, it can identify a person whose skillset exactly or approximately matches those skills (adjacent matching). And it can perform intelligent reverse matching for resource managers, recommending a well-suited project placement for a consultant who's on the bench. With the right prompts, parameters and data sets, genAI can do all this amazingly quickly and insightfully.
Elevating client service. Say a client has an accounts payable issue. Instead of having to perform all the manual work that goes into reviewing information about the case and where it stands, then relying on less-than-complete information to make decisions about next steps toward a resolution, genAI can arm service teams with the analysis and information they need about a case, recommend next best options for resolution, then automatically generate communications to the client about the steps being taken. It can also flag more complicated cases that require deeper human involvement. The result: better overall experiences and outcomes for clients and client service teams alike.

In IGT's 2023 survey, 41% of IT decision-makers at professional services firms indicated they believed genAI and technologies like ChatGPT would disrupt their organization's competitive position or business operating model in the next 18 months. By exploring use cases like these, firms can begin to harness AI's disruptive powers to add value their business and their clients.

The Case to Embrace AI: The Drive for Value - Deepening Your Firm's Operational Intelligence with Business AI

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