Who Catches the AI When It’s Wrong?

Three decades in consulting have taught us that being bright is not the only factor. Here’s what changes and what remains the same when AI handles more research, analysis and even slide generation.

Every consulting firm is racing to adopt AI, and most will have broadly comparable tools within a couple of years.

That was never going to be the differentiator. A tool everyone owns can’t be anyone’s advantage. The real differentiator is the one thing that can’t be automated: people who know when the AI is wrong. That takes judgement, built through experience, not installed through software.

This is the argument presented in the film above, and it is not just our opinion; it reflects what is already occurring across the industry. Watch the video to gain insights from William Johnson, who shares over 30 years of experience on the origins of consulting judgment and its continued importance.

Read our full Point of View here: Consulting: 30+ years on.

The industry’s own data backs this up

77%

of consulting firms have integrated AI into their systems. Research, analysis and modelling, traditionally junior work, are going first.

MCA Annual Industry Report, 2026

37%

of new consulting hires in 2025 were experienced professionals, up from 26% the year before. At large firms, it’s 53%.

MCA Annual Industry Report, 2026

“The firms that will stand out will not be those that simply bring forward impressive technology… but those that combine technology with deep advisory capability, sector expertise, knowledge and experience.”
—

Hammad Rafique, Managing Partner of Technology & Transformation, Deloitte

Source: data drawn from the Management Consultancies Association’s 2026 Annual Industry Report.

About Openside

We’ve spent 35 years developing critical thinking, judgement and emotional intelligence in consulting professionals. Today, we work with consulting and professional services firms across 37 countries, relationships that last, with one client that recently marked a 25-year milestone with us in 2025.

We’re a leading provider of executive development, training, coaching and advisory skills to professional services firms. Technology can do the research. We support and build the human capability that makes it actually work.

“Who Catches the AI When It’s Wrong?” (the POV article)

We align professional development with your firm’s strategic ambition, ensuring capability building directly supports culture, growth and commercial objectives. Through rigorous diagnosis, tailored frameworks and sustained reinforcement, we embed the skills and behaviours required to deliver lasting performance improvement.Read more about 35 years in consulting

Points of View

The last Analyst class

The grunt work nobody wanted to do was secretly the work that built every great professional. Now it’s gone. Read more about 35 years in consulting

Points of View

Power and the hollowing middle

In short: As firms automate junior-level work, the pipeline of people who used to earn the standing to challenge partners is disappearing. Power is concentrating at the top with fewer checks on it, and that’s a governance risk, not just an efficiency gain. I’ve just read an excellent piece by Nik Kinley on what power does […]Read more about 35 years in consulting

If your firm is rethinking how junior talent gets trained in an AI-native world, we’d like to hear how you’re approaching it.

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