The AI Implementation Gap: Why Consultants Who Can Deploy Win

The major consulting firms made billions last year on AI strategy work. Companies hired McKinsey, KPMG, BCG, and Bain to figure out what to do with AI. Now those same companies are realizing that a pitch deck and a strategy are not the same thing as deployed software.

From Strategy to Implementation

When ChatGPT launched, most large companies had no AI strategy at all. Their first move was predictable: hire the big consulting firms to build one. And the firms delivered. They produced strategies, roadmaps, and decks. But companies are now turning their attention from strategy to implementation. They need real ROI, and that requires someone who can actually put AI tools into daily workflows.

New York Times article headline reading "The A.I. Boom Has an Unlikely Early Winner: Wonky Consultants" with speaker overlaid

ChatGPT's Revenue Tells the Story

Look at where ChatGPT makes most of its money. The majority of revenue comes from personal users paying for individual subscriptions. That means the companies themselves have not actually deployed ChatGPT at the enterprise level. Employees are just using their own accounts at work.

Tweet from @petergyang showing ChatGPT revenue breakdown: 55% from personal Plus subscribers, 21% from ChatGPT Team, with $3.4B annual revenue

If ChatGPT itself has not been formally adopted by most companies, that tells you how early we still are. All those companies with AI strategies have yet to deploy any AI tools, whether that means ChatGPT, vertical AI products like Harvey for legal, or process automation platforms like Cassidy AI.

Speaker gesturing while discussing AI implementation tools like Cassidy AI

The Opportunity

The money is clearly there. Companies have already shown they will pay for AI. They paid for strategy. Now they need implementation. The opportunity is for consultants and agencies who can walk into a company and actually deploy AI into real workflows.

Key Takeaways

Major consulting firms earned billions on AI strategy, but companies now need hands-on implementation
Most ChatGPT revenue comes from individual users, meaning enterprise deployment is still wide open
The winning position right now is helping companies move from AI strategy decks to working AI in their daily operations

Resources

Cassidy AI -- Process automation platform for deploying AI in business workflows
Harvey AI -- Vertical AI tool built for legal professionals