PwC’s consulting arm is rolling out custom artificial intelligence tools across its business as it tries to rebuild momentum after several tough years and a damaged reputation in the local advisory market. The firm has been restructuring its consulting division around a 2030 plan, simplifying its services into six main streams while pushing staff to adopt an “AI first” mindset. This reset follows a period where governance, culture and client trust became central issues and the firm now seems determined to prove it can modernise without repeating old mistakes.
Inside client work, the new model looks very different from the traditional big four “pyramid” team structure. On one recent project to modernise a client’s application system, the firm used a team of six consultants with half of them supervising 18 AI agents to complete work that previously needed around 40 developers. Leaders say newer generative AI models mean similar projects can now be handled by even smaller teams. The message to clients is faster delivery with fewer people and sharper pricing and the pitch to staff is more sustainable working hours rather than aggressive cost cutting.
Financial results, however, show the transition is still a work in progress. Consulting revenue in calendar 2025 came in slightly below the roughly $759 million booked in 2024, partly reflecting the sale of a restructuring unit and a softer advisory market. Partner numbers in consulting remain steady and overall staff numbers are higher, which suggests the firm has not yet harvested the full productivity uplift it expects from AI. Senior leaders appear to be banking on a delayed payoff where smarter workflows, not bigger headcount, start to drive growth later in the decade.
The 2030 plan leans heavily on new AI-powered products and internal capability building. Almost all of the division’s roughly 218 partners are completing or have completed an eight week AI program with a US business school, designed to help them think about every project through an AI-centric lens rather than turn them into engineers. Deal advisers already use specialist AI platforms to scan data rooms at scale so they can spend less time on manual document review and more time on judgement-heavy tasks. The strategy seems to be about blending deep human expertise with machine speed, not replacing one with the other.
This shift is also reshaping how PwC competes. In a recent data migration tender, the firm pitched a 15 person AI-enabled team against a rival that proposed around 70 staff spread across Australia and offshore centres and it won on price and speed. Its US arm has launched a subscription based AI platform that packages the firm’s know-how into an automated, lower cost service, with plans to bring the model to Australia. These moves signal that the old high leverage staffing model used across the big four, already challenged by leaner competitors and private equity backed boutiques, looks likely to flatten as AI takes over more of the repetitive work.
Looking ahead, the broader consulting market seems poised for a shake up. Established firms such as the big four and global rivals are racing to embed AI into their offerings while newer advisory players and overseas backed outfits are using lower overheads and aggressive technology adoption to grab share. There is also a rising possibility that AI-native platforms or consulting businesses with very small human teams could undercut everyone on cost and speed. For PwC, the bet on AI-enhanced smaller teams looks like a pragmatic way to stay competitive, but the real test will be whether this model can restore growth and trust before a new generation of AI-first challengers scales up.
