Advice on the challenge of AI: ‘It will intensify competition, but it opens up new markets’
The association estimates that the sector’s turnover will be close to 7 billion, up 5 per cent. The new chairman, Antonietti, said: “Another 3,000 new jobs this year.”
There is a misconception that Alberto Antonietti seeks to dispel right from the start in this, his first interview with *Il Sole 24 Ore* following his appointment as president of Assoconsult, the Confindustria-affiliated association of business consultancy firms. Artificial intelligence is not merely a new competitor for the sector. It is the reason why businesses will have to rethink how they operate – and, consequently, the nature of consultancy itself. ‘AI is not a new technology to be added to a business. It is a new framework through which to design the business.’
It is here, according to Antonietti – who, as well as being president of Assoconsult, is managing director of Accenture – that the decisive battle will be fought for a sector that has been experiencing a period of growth for years. The question for chief executives and entrepreneurs will not be which software to buy. ‘The question is: how does our operating model change if intelligence becomes virtually free, available in real time and scalable?’
In short, not yet another innovation to be grafted onto existing processes, but an opportunity to redesign them. ‘And it is precisely in this need for a complete rethink that business consultancy will play a key role, once again demonstrating its function as an intangible infrastructure at the service of change and innovation across the national economy: businesses, public administration and citizens.’
This is why the new president of Assoconsult does not see himself as either a doomsayer or an enthusiast. ‘I hear two opposing narratives: the first is that generative AI will replace consultancy, or a large part of it; the second is that it will enhance and amplify it. The reality is different – and perhaps more uncomfortable.’ Artificial intelligence, he explains, ‘will raise the bar in terms of competition’ and make ‘the actual, genuine value that consultancy can deliver’ more transparent.
Some activities are set to decline: benchmarking, facilitating meetings and organising information. “Of course, the way we provide consultancy will also change. Some services will decline; they will need to be rethought and reinvented.” But this transformation will give rise to new demand. “A market will emerge to address the key question: how to redesign businesses using AI.”
