Competitors are leading with AI in proposals and winning work you used to own.
Against an AI pitch, propose a decision with a date on it. In place of ten weeks of market analysis, a firm can propose a market-entry decision in three weeks, then twelve months of monitoring. The project phase gets shorter and the engagement gets longer. The firm uses AI to deliver, and the client buys the outcome.
What’s happening
Ascentra Labs has been adopted by three of the top five consulting firms. These firms aren’t only using AI internally; they’re leading with it in proposals. When a competitor walks into a pitch and says ‘we deliver due diligence in one week instead of four, at half the cost, with AI-powered analysis,’ your proposal for a traditional four-week engagement looks slow and expensive.
The pitch is changing across the industry. Clients now expect to hear how AI fits into the engagement methodology, not because they care about the technology, but because they care about speed, cost, and accuracy. A proposal that doesn’t address AI feels behind. BDO Australia’s Nick Kervin put the ceiling on AI efficiency gains at 25–40% (Accounting Times, December 2025). The firms winning proposals are the ones explaining what they do with that efficiency, not merely claiming they have it.
The most dangerous competitive position is the middle: firms that have adopted AI tools internally but haven’t changed their external offerings or pricing. They’re paying for AI without getting the competitive benefit of AI-differentiated proposals. Their competitors are telling a better story about what the client actually gets.
Why the obvious responses don’t work
“Add AI capabilities to proposals”
Table stakes, not a differentiator. Every firm can add a slide about their AI tools. Clients aren’t choosing firms based on which AI platform they use. They’re choosing based on what the AI lets the firm deliver differently.
“Hire an innovation team”
Internal innovation teams don’t change the business model. They produce pilots and white papers. What clients care about is how your AI capability changes the engagement they’re buying, specifically the timeline, cost, and what they walk away with.
“Partner with AI vendors”
This makes you a channel for someone else’s technology. Partnering with an AI vendor doesn’t differentiate your consulting. Clients want your expertise, not your vendor list.
What’s working instead
The winning proposals lead with the outcome, not the methodology. Instead of ‘we will spend 10 weeks analyzing your market,’ they say ‘we will deliver a market entry decision in three weeks with continuous monitoring for 12 months.’ The engagement is faster, cheaper on the project phase, and more valuable overall because it includes ongoing support. AI makes this possible, but the pitch isn’t about AI. It’s about what AI lets the firm deliver that it couldn’t before.
The way out is to stop optimizing the old model and sell new services built on what AI can’t do. We find out what your clients will pay for, then build the AI that delivers it. Start with a pilot: in two weeks, a working first version tried on your own client work, then a decision on production. Or start with a plan for the whole firm.
Other pressures on Consulting Firms
The same pressure in other industries
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