Smart bots, big bills: India Inc’s rude awakening after AI fails to lower consulting fees

“AI has expanded the addressable market for consulting; more firms now need external support to develop AI capabilities, hence overall project volumes have increased,” said Siddharth Jain, managing partner and country head, Kearney India. “What has changed is the shape of the teams: fewer analysts per project, more mid-level consultants, because the nature of the work has changed. This change in team composition, combined with higher volumes, is what drives revenue growth for firms like us.”