McKinsey charges $300-500/hour for junior analysts to do research you could automate. Let's talk about that.
This isn't a hit piece on consulting firms. They're good at what they do. But what they charge for has fundamentally changed in value — and most clients haven't noticed yet.
The Consulting Industry's Dirty Secret
Here's how a typical $300K consulting engagement breaks down:
| Activity | % of Hours | Who Does It | Automatable? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Partner meetings & strategy | 10% | Senior partner | No — this is the value |
| Research & data gathering | 35% | Junior analysts | Yes — agents do this faster |
| Analysis & synthesis | 25% | Mid-level associates | Mostly — with human review |
| Deck building & formatting | 20% | Junior analysts | Entirely automatable |
| Project management | 10% | Engagement manager | Partially automatable |
You're paying partner rates for a team where 70% of the labor is done by people 2 years out of business school. The partner's strategic insight is worth every dollar. The analyst's desk research? That's a solved problem.
The AI Arbitrage Opportunity
AI agents handle the 70% — research, analysis, first drafts, formatting — at a fraction of the cost and a multiple of the speed. Humans handle the 30% that actually requires judgment: strategy, client relationships, nuanced recommendations.
This isn't about replacing consultants. It's about restructuring where human time goes. When agents handle the grunt work, humans spend 100% of their time on the work that justifies $500/hour.
Cost Comparison: Traditional vs. AI-Native Consulting
| Dimension | Traditional Firm | Proxie (AI-Native) |
|---|---|---|
| Engagement cost | $200-500K | ₹5-15L ($6-18K) |
| Timeline | 3-6 months | 2-8 weeks |
| Team size | 3-5 humans | 15 agents + human review |
| Research depth | Limited by analyst hours | Parallel — 15 sources simultaneously |
| Revisions | 2-3 rounds (billed) | Unlimited within scope |
| Deliverable format | PowerPoint deck | Interactive report + raw data + code |
What You Actually Get
Traditional consulting gives you a PDF and a handshake. An AI-native engagement gives you:
- ▸The deliverable (same strategic quality, faster turnaround)
- ▸The underlying data and sources (not locked in a consultant's laptop)
- ▸Reusable frameworks you can run again without rehiring
- ▸Code and automations that keep working after the engagement ends
When Traditional Consulting Still Makes Sense
We'd be dishonest if we said AI consulting replaces everything. Here's when you should still hire a traditional firm:
- ▸Board-level politics: When the deliverable needs a brand name attached for credibility
- ▸Deep relationship work: M&A advisory, investor relations, sensitive negotiations
- ▸Regulatory navigation: Where human judgment and relationships with regulators matter
- ▸Organizational change: Culture transformation requires human presence and empathy
For everything else — market research, competitive analysis, technical due diligence, process optimization, content strategy — AI-native consulting delivers more, faster, cheaper.
Curious what consulting-grade work at software prices looks like? Check out our pricing or book a call to scope your project.