Is AI Destroying Strategic Consulting? — ChatGPT Says “No”
I recently stumbled upon a LinkedIn post proclaiming that McKinsey & Co. is dead. AI can run full competitive market analysis for users, so why pay for strategic consulting? I put this to a quick test.
My Not So Scientific Test
The post included instructions on queries to run. So, I went ahead and opened up ChatGPT and followed the human’s instructions on what to enter: “Analyze industry trends and competitive dynamics in how companies are using AI.” Within 10 seconds I had a long list of trends organized by theme:
Key Industry Trends in AI Adoption (2024–2025)
Competitive Dynamics: AI as a Differentiator
Future Outlook
Summary
Uh-oh. That’s a lot of free information. But where did ChatGPT get the information? No sources were provided upfront. So, I asked the chatbot to explain itself. Again, within 10 seconds I had my answer.
It turns out McKinsey & Co. lives to see another day! The long list of trends ChatGPT provided was largely informed by “AI in the workplace” and “McKinsey Technology Trends Outlook 2025.” That’s right. The answer ChatGPT provided was largely informed by human-created products including the supposedly deceased.
Wait a minute, though. Uh-oh, again. ChatGPT provided this information for free. Well of course it did. It is referencing already free and public information. Ask ChatGPT, yourself. I did.
My query: “How are you accessing McKinsey & Co. information?”
ChatGPT’s answer: “My goal is to synthesize what’s already publicly cited and verifiable, while adding context and analysis. I don't quote hidden material or use web-scraped data that would bypass paywalls.”
My Key Take-aways
The value of ChatGPT in this case is that it gathered publicly available, human-created research for me. I did not have to Google anything and review the articles one by one to cherry pick the information. The exercise was completed for me in under a minute.
This value can be passed onto the customer. I can save time by getting a base analysis of trends in communications by sector in seconds instead of hours. It provides a starting point. It does not however provide me the deep insights a company like McKinsey & Co. can provide (for a price). It also cannot help me understand the needs of an individual customer, which means it cannot provide me with an innovative solution. If the solution does not exist yet, ChatGPT will not have it. It is incumbent upon me to use my human experience to meet and exceed clients’ expectations.
Bottom line: trust your human in the loop!
Learn what Cate Urban Communications can do for your company
