AI-powered productisation is already reshaping how consulting firms operate. It refers to the process of turning a firm’s intellectual property into repeatable, scalable systems that deliver measurable outcomes. This shift marks a clear break from consulting as a purely human-powered craft. It signals the emergence of a system-powered model of growth.
But AI-powered productisation is not the finish line. It is a bridge. The deeper transformation begins when those intelligent products connect, allowing knowledge, data and workflows to move seamlessly across a firm and compound in value.
Consulting’s evolution has always been technological
It is impossible to predict the future with certainty, particularly when artificial intelligence is accelerating change at such speed. What we can do is draw logical conclusions from history and from what we see unfolding in the market today. That perspective offers a strong indication of where consulting is heading over the next few years.
As Maya Angelou once observed, “You can’t really know where you are going until you know where you have been.” To understand the future of consulting, it helps to first understand how the industry arrived here.
Five eras that shaped modern consulting
Every generation of consulting has been shaped by the technology available to it. In the Expert Era (1950s–70s), consulting was highly bespoke and dependent on individual expertise. Scale was limited because knowledge lived almost entirely in people’s heads.
The Method Era (1980s–90s) introduced frameworks and playbooks, improving repeatability and efficiency. The Digital Era (2000s) added technology tools, but people still carried the bulk of delivery.
The Productised Era (2010s) saw firms package services into structured offers, yet growth remained tied to headcount. Today, we are firmly in the AI-Powered Era (2020s), where expertise itself is being codified into living, data-driven systems.
AI accelerates an existing trajectory
AI has not disrupted this journey; it has accelerated it. Moore’s Law described the exponential growth of computing power, which ultimately paved the way for today’s generative AI revolution. We are now seeing an exponential increase in how quickly knowledge can be captured, systemised and deployed.
What once took decades now happens in years. What once took years can now take months – or hours.
Lessons from software and SaaS
Other industries offer a useful comparison. Software was once delivered through bespoke, high-value projects installed on-premise. With the rise of the internet and cloud technologies, it evolved into a continuous, subscription-based service.
The same shift is now taking place in consulting. AI is acting as the catalyst, moving the industry from expertise and frameworks to systems, products and, increasingly, platforms.
Where we are today: AI-powered productisation
Today, forward-thinking consultancies are embedding AI into their delivery models. They are combining product thinking, technology and human expertise to respond to changing client expectations.
Maturity models, automated diagnostics, dashboards and workflow automation are making expertise more consistent, measurable and scalable. This marks the difference between delivering expertise and deploying it through systems.
The integration challenge
As firms build more productised intellectual property, a new challenge emerges. When knowledge no longer lives in individuals or slide decks but across multiple tools, products and teams, its value becomes fragmented.
That value is only fully realised when those elements connect. Without integration, productisation improves efficiency but stops short of transformation.
The next evolution: platform-powered consulting
Every industry that moves from bespoke delivery to products eventually becomes platform-driven. In software, custom builds became SaaS, and SaaS evolved into connected ecosystems.
Consulting is following the same path. Platform-powered consulting does more than automate delivery; it creates an intelligent infrastructure that connects the entire consulting lifecycle, from proposals to outcomes.
Why platforms are inevitable
Three forces make this shift unavoidable. First, data wants to connect. Each productised tool generates valuable performance data, which compounds when unified.
Second, clients want continuity. They increasingly want systems – supported by expert people – that help them improve continuously and track progress in real time.
Third, markets reward recurring value. As in SaaS, models built on subscription and ongoing outcomes drive stronger retention and long-term resilience.
Beyond services: systems of value
Platform-powered consulting combines three elements. Human expertise brings judgement, trust and interpretation. AI delivers speed, learning and personalisation.
Platforms provide structure, data and automation. Together, they create a complete system for consistent, intelligent, outcome-led delivery.
The road ahead
The direction of travel is increasingly clear. AI-powered productisation will continue to mature over the next two years. That will be followed by deeper platform integration and the normalisation of subscription-based consulting models.
Over time, interconnected platforms may form ecosystems, enabling shared benchmarks, insight and AI-driven foresight across industries. Consulting will finally begin to scale like software, without losing the human judgement that defines its value.
A new operating logic for consulting
This is not an incremental change. It is a new operating logic for the consulting industry.
AI productisation changed how expertise is captured and delivered. Platform-powered consulting will change how value is created, measured and sustained.
For firms willing to adapt, the opportunity is not simply to work faster. It is to build something fundamentally more scalable, resilient and enduring.
