Smart Consulting Sourcing

How to Buy Consulting in the Age of AI

In this inaugural episode, Elaine Lafitte explains why AI will not replace consulting procurement but can serve as a powerful sparring partner that structures information, surfaces hidden assumptions, and forces disciplined questioning. She highlights that buying consulting is fundamentally a human‑centric activity—framing vague briefs, navigating politics, and interpreting stakeholder intent—tasks where AI falls short. However, AI can automate busy work, translate ambiguous corporate language into clear logic, and repeatedly ask critical questions about objectives, constraints, and success criteria, helping buyers sharpen scopes and RFPs. The episode also warns of AI’s blind spots, such as bias, hallucinations, and over‑reliance on surface‑level data, emphasizing that human judgment remains essential for market insight and political nuance.