S1 E5 - AI Ends The Billable Hour

Liz argues that the traditional consultancy business model is becoming obsolete because AI is commoditising tasks like data gathering and basic analysis. Instead of selling human hours and manual labour, future firms must pivot toward an always-on advisory model that prioritises outcome-based pricing and automated diagnostics. This transition requires companies to move away from "battery farm" scaling and instead focus on codifying human expertise into intelligent digital frameworks. Successful firms will likely emerge as platform orchestrators where AI handles the intellectual heavy lifting while humans provide essential judgement, accountability, and trust. Ultimately, boards are encouraged to scrutinise whether they are paying for genuine strategic insight or simply funding inefficient, outdated processes that technology can now handle faster.