What AI Means for the Future of Consulting

With the rise of AI, we need to be honest about the future of consulting.

Many of the tasks that used to take days, or at least long, coffee-fuelled hours, can now be done much more quickly. Preparing for a workshop, analysing interview data, finding key themes across disparate sources, crafting a coherent story in a slide deck… These are things we still need to guide, but they no longer need to consume hours of effort.

Case Study

I recently worked on a Target Operating Model (TOM) design project. I’ve been part of large-scale TOM initiatives before – the kind that take months and cost high six or even seven figures. While some deliver great outcomes, others end up overly complex, impossible to implement, or simply out of date by the time they’re finished.

This time, using AI throughout the process, we co-designed a complete TOM, end to end, with all the layers, in around six weeks and at a fraction of the cost. The client is already preparing to implement. That’s disruption.

The Industry Needs to Catch Up

Consultancies that aren’t rethinking their delivery models or their pricing risk falling behind. Not because their work is poor, but because they’re not keeping pace with the tools that make consulting smarter, faster, and more actionable.

Whgat this shift means for the industry… that’s a post for another day.

What This Means for You

If you’re engaging a consultancy, it’s time to revisit your assumptions. You might get the same value in half the time, or twice the value for the same spend.

At N16, we’re not running a half-price sale – but we are delivering work in half the time, with twice the impact. Got two projects in mind? Let’s talk. You might just find it feels like a 2-for-1 deal.