There’s a persistent myth about AI agents: that the goal is to remove humans from the loop entirely. Fully autonomous. Zero friction. The AI will just take over and handle everything.
That framing is wrong for agentic models. Especially in human-centered industries such as consulting. Will it put pressure on us? You bet!
Consulting firms and professional services teams that get this right are building very different practices than those chasing full automation, and the opportunity to create value over commoditization remains a game-changer (just like it always has).
Agentic AI does not fundamentally change what makes great consulting organizations great in the first place. AI may create agents that replace some of the functions of consultants, but they will never replace the true value of consulting: long-term value generation.
We should always be commoditizing repeatable tasks where we can, in favor of long-term value. It continuously transforms the client/consulting dynamic towards greater value. Agentic AI lets us do just that, at scale.
An agent’s value isn’t determined by its level of autonomy. It’s determined by what it actually produces for consultants and clients. It includes the quality of the judgment, the reliability of the output, and the trust that builds over time.
Consultant-in-the-loop isn’t the fallback for when AI isn’t smart enough yet. It’s the current-and-future architecture for professional services firms. (I’ve written about why that’s a permanent condition, not a transitional one.)
For consulting and professional services leaders, consultant-in-the-loop moments are not just speed bumps; they are strategic points where your firm’s judgment, your key differentiator, actively shapes the work.
When you map out where your agent asks for human input, you’re defining what your consultancy is responsible for. You’re deciding what clients are actually paying for when they hire you.
That’s not a constraint on what AI can do. That’s the heart of what we do. Disintermediation has always been a threat and an opportunity for consulting. Agentic AI is simply the next phase.
