By James Briggs, CEO & Founder, AI Collaborator, Inc.

February 26, 2025

Since attending CES last month, our team has engaged with AI and IT leaders from more than 50 enterprise firms to discuss AI’s impact on their organizations. We have discovered that a profound change is underway as AI demand explodes, leaving many scrambling to implement and scale AI solutions effectively.

Many organizations initially turn to the same big consulting firms they’ve relied on during previous tech disruptions to navigate this shift. While these firms provide valuable insights, they often leave critical aspects of AI demand management unaddressed.

Here’s what they’re not telling you:

 

1. Your AI Demand Is Outpacing Their Playbook

Big consulting firms rely on established frameworks built for traditional IT and digital transformations. The problem? AI is evolving at an unprecedented pace, and their methodologies aren’t keeping up. While they may offer best practices, they often lack the agility to provide cutting-edge AI strategies that align with real-time AI models and capabilities advancements.

2. They Overlook Grassroots AI Demand in Your Organization

Big consultancies and significant tech giants focus on securing large contract engagements for “strategic initiatives.” However, much of today’s AI demand originates from grassroots initiatives—often led by middle managers—that don’t meet the threshold for C-suite or IT executives to justify consulting engagements.

Yet, these grassroots initiatives present significant opportunities to drive ROI by improving workflows, reducing inefficiencies, and automating repetitive tasks. The managers championing these initiatives are closest to business operations and seek AI to enhance employee satisfaction and boost productivity.

Big consulting firms frequently overlook this bottom-up AI adoption, which has the potential to transform how enterprises deploy AI at scale.

3. They Push Preferred Vendors—Not the Best Fit for You

Many large consultancies have long-standing technology and AI vendor partnerships that shape their recommendations. As a result, their “independent” advice is often biased toward solutions aligned with their business interests rather than your specific needs. You may be missing out on more innovative or cost-effective AI solutions simply because they fall outside of their pre-approved vendor ecosystem.

4. Your Internal Teams Could Move Faster—If Properly Enabled

Many enterprises assume AI adoption requires large-scale consulting support. However, your internal teams could execute AI initiatives faster and at a lower cost with the right enablement strategy.

By investing in AI democratization strategies that expand AI access beyond strategic projects and priority initiatives—reaching underutilized areas of your organization through innovative providers offering access to a global AI marketplace—you can build a more sustainable and scalable AI strategy without excessive reliance on external consultants.

5. Agentic AI Will Challenge the Need for Large Consulting Engagements

One of the most significant disruptions consulting firms aren’t discussing enough is the rise of AI agents (Agentic AI) and the potential impact on their business. These autonomous AI systems can automate and optimize many strategic advisory functions currently handled by consulting firms.

As AI agents advance, enterprises can leverage them for AI demand management, solution evaluation, and even decision-making—reducing the need for prolonged and expensive consulting engagements.

The Bottom Line

AI demand is surging, but relying solely on traditional consulting approaches may slow progress and limit competitive advantage. To stay ahead, enterprises must challenge conventional wisdom, seek diverse AI solution providers, and empower internal teams to drive AI transformation. AI is rewriting the rules of enterprise technology—make sure you’re playing by the new ones, not the old ones.

AI Collaborator, Inc., is your partner in AI Innovation. Committed to helping enterprises build AI-Agility™, our marketplace approach provides on-demand access to AI solutions and services.

AI-Agility™ enables organizations to augment internal capabilities and responsibly scale AI innovation to meet evolving business needs.