In 2025, businesses across every sector are navigating complex market landscapes that are changing more rapidly than ever before. For consulting firms and professionals, this presents a significant opportunity for growth.
The last few years have made it clear that the advancement of sophisticated technologies like data analytics and generative artificial intelligence (genAI) are not slowing demand for consulting services. In fact, the opposite is true. Companies in every industry are turning to consultants for guidance in adopting new tools and integrating them into their business strategies.
At the same time, emerging trends related to workplace transformation, remote work, and corporate sustainability have proven to be permanent fixtures in the business world, bringing new opportunities for consulting firms to lead the way in helping companies transform and modernize.
At the heart of it all has been a clear demand for consulting firms and their client companies to become more agile, adaptable, and informed, emphasizing the need for data-driven business intelligence tools that help organizations stay abreast of market trends and a step ahead of their competitors.
In this article, we’ll explore these and other key consulting trends shaping the landscape in 2025.
Generative AI: A Paradigm Shift
GenAI has emerged as a game-changer in the business world with the potential to reshape data analysis, broaden research scope, and improve data-informed decision making.
When it comes to genAI in consulting, the demand is twofold. First, consultants must embrace AI as a critical resource to enhance the quality and depth of strategies they recommend to their clients. Second, they should be developing the expertise needed to help clients incorporate genAI into their own internal operating and decision-making processes.
Key capabilities facilitated by genAI in both of these applications include:
- High-volume, high-quality data analysis: Process vast amounts of complex data to quickly return the most valuable insights.
- Predictive insights: Model scenarios and produce strategy simulations to assess various potential market outcomes.
- Customizability and personalization: Use learning models to tailor strategy development and solutions to unique client needs.
- Accelerated innovation: Automate time-consuming tasks in the research process and redirect focus toward higher-value activities, like strategic thinking and creative problem-solving.
- Enhanced collaboration: Use genAI as a platform for knowledge sharing and synthesizing expertise for cohesive solution and strategy development.
Given increased demand for genAI, it’s imperative for consultants to understand the ethical implications and have the advanced knowledge to guide their clients effectively in its usage. This includes promoting transparency around the use of genAI, recognizing and minimizing biases, staying compliant with data privacy regulations, and using ethical algorithm training practices.
Evolving Hiring Practices and Skill Sets
While demand for consulting services is not lessening, consulting firms are struggling to attract and retain the right talent in a tight labor market. Employees have elevated and nuanced expectations for employers and the working environments they provide — one of the residual effects of the global pandemic. According to a survey conducted by The Barton Partnership, consultants today are looking for better work-life balance, higher salaries, and better company cultures.
How are firms responding? Most are making certain changes to meet the evolving needs of top talent — such as offering more flexible working arrangements, ramping up wellness programs, accelerating promotions, and expanding learning opportunities.
At the same time, as digitalization and AI literacy are becoming top-of-mind in every industry, many consulting firms are also shifting to skills-based hiring. Rather than the traditional approach of recruiting candidates straight from elite universities or MBA programs, firms are seeking out candidates with in-demand technical and digital skills. Data scientists, software engineers, UX designers, and other specialists are becoming integral for supporting analytics and implementation work. Firms like PwC are heavily investing in the recruitment of AI-skilled workers, as well as expanding their genAI capabilities to increase efficiency and serve clients better.
All told, in 2025, the consulting firms that are most likely to thrive are those that are creating an exciting and supportive work environment for their employees — by investing in cutting-edge capabilities and fostering a culture of innovation and excitement, while also taking heed of employees’ needs.
Industry Specialization and ESG Focus
The age of jack-of-all-trades generalist consulting firms is coming to an end. Clients increasingly want to work with firms that specialize in their specific sector and understand all its nuances. As such, consulting firms specializing in certain verticals and functional specialties are becoming more common, and large established consulting firms are also building out specialized departments within their structures. For example, McKinsey has QuantumBlack— an AI division for building predictive models and advanced AI analytics. EY acquired sustainability consulting firm AFARA to broaden their ESG consulting capabilities.
The market for ESG and sustainability consulting is surging. The global sustainability consulting services market is expected to grow from $12.26 billion in 2023 to $43.32 billion by 2029, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 26.38%. Even despite the Trump administration’s anti-ESG policies, ESG initiatives continue to gain traction — both globally and at the state level. Companies are increasingly focusing on ESG risks and opportunities, emphasizing corporate governance and legal risk management. This shift underscores the need for specialized ESG consulting services to help businesses adapt to evolving expectations and maintain compliance across jurisdictions.
Companies require guidance to navigate the complex interplay of global standards, state regulations, and stakeholder expectations. Accordingly, consulting firms are expected to keep focusing on ESG, both by acquiring ESG specialist firms and by launching dedicated sustainability arms to better help clients meet sustainability goals, manage risks, and meet diverse compliance requirements.
Permanent Shift to Hybrid and Remote Delivery
Since the pandemic, the consulting industry has been steadily transitioning to virtual collaboration and remote delivery. According to PwC, 78% of consulting clients now expect the use of virtual collaboration tools, and they appreciate the flexibility and continuity remote delivery offers.
Consultants now routinely use video conferencing, shared digital workspaces, and collaborative analytics platforms to deliver advice without always being physically present. This trend has expanded access to global talent pools and reduced travel costs, but also requires new skills in remote client engagement.
In response to this shift, consultants must invest in building rapport and trust virtually in order to seamlessly integrate on-site and off-site team members. Hybrid delivery also means consulting firms can staff projects with a mix of local and remote experts more easily, bringing the best expertise to clients regardless of location.
Consultancies that choose to embrace this transition will benefit from integrating tools designed for knowledge management and collaboration — such as enterprise search tools.
Enterprise search is one of the best ways to facilitate enhanced team communication, collaboration, reporting, and knowledge management. AlphaSense’s Enterprise Intelligence is a tool consultants can use to access and manage internal team knowledge, while increasing productivity and reducing duplication of efforts. And because it’s powered by generative AI, natural language processing (NLP), and machine learning, this enterprise search tool makes it easy to quickly find contextually relevant information even in large and complex datasets.
Related Reading: Enterprise Search Use Cases
Global Uncertainty as an Opportunity
Geopolitical turbulence — such as trade wars and regional conflicts — and economic volatility present challenges across industries in 2025. For opportunistic consulting firms, there is a real potential to use this time to grow and thrive.
More than ever, companies are seeking guidance on scenario planning, crisis management, and resilience. Consulting firms offering advisory services focused on organizational resilience in the face of geopolitical unrest are in especially high demand.
Consulting firms can help companies with supply chain diversification and localization — which is particularly timely in the face of President Donald Trump’s tariff policies. As borrowing costs rise and the risk of a recession rises, companies are turning to consulting firms to help them with increasing efficiency and reducing costs.
As more companies embrace digitalization and AI, they are more likely to need consulting support in managing associated risks and learning how to deploy AI safely and effectively. Consultancies can also support companies in mitigating cybersecurity and IT risk — a key concern as cyber threats are escalating globally.
Overall, consultancies can be important partners for companies wanting to effectively navigate uncertainty and increase resiliency. In 2025, advising clients how to survive and thrive amid disruption is as critical, if not more so, as helping them pursue new market opportunities. Those consulting firms that can successfully position themselves as essential guides in a complex, volatile environment will be best poised for success.
Regulatory and Ethical Scrutiny
In 2025, large consulting firms are under enhanced regulatory and public scrutiny, particularly those firms that offer both consulting and audit services. The United Kingdom recently mandated that the Big Four consulting firms separate their consulting and audit arms to ensure auditors are not influenced by the desire to sell consulting work. The use of generative AI by consulting firms is also drawing regulatory attention— increasing the need for new requirements around transparency, fairness, and accountability with AI use.
Consulting firms have also taken reputational hits from various scandals in recent years. PwC abused confidential Australian government tax draft information to benefit private clients, leading the Australian government to ban PwC from taking on any new federal consulting clients for at least one to two years, resulting in PwC selling off its public sector consulting arm.
Similarly, McKinsey and other firms have recently faced allegations of conflicts of interest, some of which have prompted investigations. All of these events shine a spotlight on the importance of ethical conduct in consulting, leading consulting firms to tighten their internal governance and risk controls. Firms are also being more cautious about accepting contracts that could pose reputational risk.
In 2025, regulatory changes and ethical expectations are clearly shaping how consulting firms are conducting business. When consulting firms maintain transparency and accountability in their operations, it keeps them safe and promotes continued trust with their clients.
Stay on the Leading Edge of Consulting with AlphaSense
The consulting industry is poised for growth in 2025, but it’s imperative for firms to remain adaptable and evolve with clients’ shifting needs. In this uncertain macroeconomic environment, opportunities abound for consulting firms to help clients navigate geopolitical turbulence, economic volatility, and sustainability requirements. Embracing new technologies, such as generative AI, and adapting to greater digitalization are key ways to maintain a competitive edge and better serve clients. At the same time, it’s crucial that firms prioritize ethical practices and abide by regulatory requirements, so as to protect themselves and build reputations based on trust, transparency, and accountability.
Firms that want to get and stay ahead need a trustworthy market intelligence tool that will help them stay in-the-know on important market and regulatory developments, while also providing a competitive edge through advanced AI technology.
AlphaSense is a leading market intelligence platform trusted by 95% of the world’s top consultancies. On the platform, you can instantly surface the key insights you need to win more business and deliver better client service.
AlphaSense features an extensive library of public, private, and proprietary content, and is powered by cutting-edge AI technology that enhances every critical area of focus for consulting firms, including:
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Don’t miss our guide for how to conduct consulting market research.
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