Consultants and AI: Missing the Entire Point of Smart Software in a Blue Chip Firm
February 13, 2026
Another dinobaby post. No AI unless it is an image. This dinobaby is not Grandma Moses, just Grandpa Arnold.
I got a chuckle out of “McKinsey Says It Has 25,000 Agents. Its Rivals Say That’s Not a Metric of Success.” My hunch is that neither Business Insider or its writer have substantial experience working for a blue chip consulting firm. Before I reveal what makes these multi-billion dollar money machines work is not what is spelled out in the write up.
The image shows a typical lunch at Traveler restaurant in Manhattan near Park Avenue and 45th. Thanks, Venice.ai. Good enough.
I want to point to this passage:
Newman [Ernst & Young’s global engineering chief] said EY is more focused on measuring efficiency. He said EY tracks agent value through key performance indicators for productivity, quality, and cost.
Okay, that is one push back for McKinsey touting it agent count.
Here’s a second snip from the article:
AI has rapidly reshaped the consulting industry in recent years. McKinsey, EY, PwC, and other consulting firms are all racing to both adopt AI internally and position themselves as the go-to for other companies seeking advice on how to do the same.
Okay, that a generalization, and for the blue chip outfits with which I am familiar, it is 100 percent incorrect.
What is the write up missing? A focus on the marketing value of AI.
My view is that blue chip consulting firms care about profitable engagements. The metric that carries weight at a blue chip consulting firm is billable hours. AI is a means to engagements. The more hype and razzle dazzle and fear-uncertainty-doubt that one can engender about a disruptive or potentially catastrophic meteor strike, the more firms with sufficient cash will hire the blue chip outfits to help assuage leaderships’ fears.
If AI allows a blue chip firm to reduce headcount and the engagements generate bounteous revenue, AI is a winner. If AI increases competitive advantage, it is a winner. If AI reduces costs and steps up the amount of knowledge work a consultant can do, it is a winner.
The number 25,000 is a sale hook. A potential client or an existing client will ask, “Hey, what are some of those agents?” Bingo. Proposal opportunity or better yet, a scope change to an existing engagement’s contract.
What about the Ernst & Young rejoinder. It is marketing. McKinsey is missing the point. The EY position is that it has the right measure. I think the reality at accounting firms that rebranded themselves as blue chip consultants is wrong. First, EY does not want to get hauled into court and get the Enron treatment. Remember, Arthur Andersen. EY’s leadership does. Second, EY has to use AI in order to reduce its fees for bean counters who often do things pecking away in Excel. I acknowledge that McKinsey has to dodge legal bullets for some of its pharma related insights. But accounting firms are on the radar of tax authorities 24×7 if the gossip I hear is accurate.
The true blue chip firms are about one thing: Money. Partners want to get rich. Staff cut into the bonus pool. Accounting firms have to avoid legal problems and generate profits. Keep in mind that I am a dinobaby. Accounting firms that are also consulting firms are different from blue chip consulting firms that hire accounting firms.
AI is a marketing tool. The outputs are marketing collateral and essentially valueless but for causing the phone to ring.
Stephen E Arnold, February 13, 2026
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