The Next Bottleneck in How AI Is Transforming Consulting

Q. How is the consulting industry changing with the advancement of generative AI?

Even within the consulting industry, the use of AI has been advancing rapidly, and the “thinking” work that consultants have traditionally handled is already being partly replaced by AI. In some areas, consultants are also working alongside AI, allowing quality to improve more quickly than before.

In that context, what becomes increasingly important is how to efficiently collect primary information that serves as input for both consultants and AI to think. I believed this would be the next key point.

In an era where AI helps augment thinking, the next bottleneck is how to collect primary information.

Kikuvi’s Impact on the Consulting Process

Q. What impact does Kikuvi have on that bottleneck?

When moving a consulting project forward, it is extremely important to accurately capture what external experts and the people working inside the client organization are thinking and what they are doing on a daily basis—this kind of primary information is essential for progressing the project.

Kikuvi makes this highly efficient from the interview design phase through the execution phase. In the design phase, it enables rapid setup, and by interacting with the consultant, the questionnaire evolves. And in the execution phase—this is where I think the value is greatest—Kikuvi transforms what used to be a process where two consultants would work hard in person to interview dozens of people into an environment where clients can respond whenever and however it suits them, at a time of their choosing.

I feel that the process of collecting primary information through interviews is changing significantly.

For Consultants, Kikuvi Becomes the “First Move”

Q. Looking ahead, what kind of role do you think Kikuvi will play for consultants?

Until now, the cost of understanding a client’s context has been very high, so deep interviews have been used only for specific projects such as operational improvement.

Going forward, I believe the pattern will be to first use Kikuvi for any project to ask about and understand the client’s situation, and then make strategic and operational improvement recommendations based on that. Interviews will become the “first move” in every project. I believe Kikuvi can make that possible.

It will become something that any project first uses to ask about and understand the client’s situation through Kikuvi.

Toward the Areas Where Consultants Should Truly Focus

Q. When the cost of interviews goes down, where should consultants spend their time?

They should focus on thinking interactively with AI based on the information collected. And beyond that—on ensuring the client’s strategy is executed and delivered properly, and on the point where it actually creates an impact on the client’s business performance. I believe consultants will be able to focus more of their time on those areas.

That is exactly where we at YCP are focused as well: being involved end to end, from strategy formulation through execution and results. I feel that Kikuvi is a product that gives consultants back the time to concentrate on execution.