O'Leary-Backed Companies Replace Consultants With AI After 24-Month Shift
Updated
Updated · Business Insider · Jun 21
O'Leary-Backed Companies Replace Consultants With AI After 24-Month Shift
3 articles · Updated · Business Insider · Jun 21
Summary
Companies backed by Kevin O'Leary are now using AI for consulting-style decisions such as retail distribution design, a shift he said has accelerated over the last 24 months.
Cheaper analysis is driving the change: firms first ask AI to test options, then have internal management teams validate the ideas instead of hiring outside consultants.
Large consultancies are adapting rather than retreating — McKinsey says about 40% of its work is AI-related, while BCG said 20% was tied to AI in 2024.
Accenture last year folded strategy, consulting, technology and operations into an AI-centered "reinvention services" unit, underscoring how the industry is reorganizing around the technology.
O'Leary said consulting still has value as a sub-2-year early-career stop, but he views 7-year tenures as a liability for CEO candidates.