McKinsey, Bain, and BCG welcomed AI with open arms. Creativity is the first casualty

Welcome to the world of consulting in 2025. AI is everywhere—from writing reports and making decks to crunching numbers. But you’d think the likes of McKinsey, Bain, and BCG would be worried about AI, right? Because AI reduces the knowledge gap between them and their clients. Turns out, instead of resisting it, they’re going all in.

The ones feeling the heat are junior most employees—the consultants. Timelines are shrinking and expectations are going up. Creativity? Who cares about that anymore. A former Bain manager told The Ken about an instance when a senior partner wanted a full client assessment by the next day. Normally, this would take weeks to pull off. The result? Rushed work and fancy words that sound good but don’t really say anything substantial. And worst of all—there is no  time to fact-check. There seems to be a real disconnect between what senior leaders think AI can do, and what it actually does. 

So what happens when the industry famous for having all the answers is now taking shortcuts using a chatbot? Also, what happens when clients find out?

Q for listeners: If 90% of your job could be done by AI, what would you focus on to stay valuable?

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