Exploiting the opportunities of AI is the top subject being discussed around board tables today, with the senior buyers of consulting we survey saying it is their most important strategic priority. But is this all talk, or will they be spending big in 2025? And what does that mean for consulting services?

Certainly, in Source’s quarterly survey, clients say they plan to use external support around emerging technology, with AI services emerging as the second-most likely area where they think they’ll be reaching out to consultants for help rather than tackling the work in-house.  This points to a shortage of homegrown talent in this space and an appetite for proven use cases delivered by experts who have implemented this technology before. In conversation, clients say they want evidence of a secure return on investment, particularly at a time when little in the business world can be relied upon to remain consistent from day to day, or even from hour to hour.  

But what will they be buying?  

Productivity was the top goal of the clients we surveyed in 2024, and this looks likely to continue—and even increase—over the next 12 months, with 51% of clients set to use AI consulting services to drive this objective upwards in 2025. Productivity, by its very nature, has a measurable outcome, and clients that targeted this goal with the aid of AI in 2024 estimate a gain of around 15% on average. This data provides the type of hard evidence of returns that businesses are searching for today. 

Other top targets for AI consulting support this year will be improving customer interactions, better decision making, and gaining a competitive advantage. A pure focus on cost reduction sits lower down the table—indicating that, while clients need financial returns, they are also looking to transform, innovate, and beat the competition as a route to success in the year ahead. 

Productivity is the top focus for AI consulting 

The size of the AI consulting market 

What about the size of this spend? Is AI consulting likely to have a break-out year in terms of revenues in 2025?  

Looking back at 2024, an impressive 73% of clients say they used consulting support around AI or similar technologies during the year. And with satisfaction levels riding high (95% said they were either satisfied or highly satisfied with these services), demand looks likely to continue. 

What’s less clear is the size and scope of these projects—something that we’ll be analysing in greater depth throughout 2025, so please watch this space—but conversations with firms and clients indicate that the current size of spend is still relatively small, with many projects taking the form of point solutions rather than large projects. In addition, clients may have swept up some ad-hoc information gathering and informal chats with firms around the possibilities of AI into this impressive usage figure.  

However, the trajectory for this consulting service can only be upwards, and we expect it to mirror the journey of digital transformation consulting: Initially this work took the form of small, ring-fenced projects, but, as use cases were proven and stories of successful implementation grew, so did the scope of these engagements. 

In the meantime, firms would do well to position themselves to be the providers of choice for these services, with clients particularly looking to work with those that can demonstrate how they are using the technology in their own organisations and with consultants that have convincing case studies to share.  

Clients want to buy from firms that can show AI use cases in action

While the market for AI consulting services hasn’t yet reached the size that many firms have been anticipating for the last 18 months, indicators around client use and appetite are clearly building. But businesses have moved beyond buying in to the initial buzz, and—at a time of very real and sudden threats to cost bases, supply chains, and consumer confidence— clients want evidence of a guaranteed return on their investment before they buy from firms.  

What can firms do next?  

Are you looking to understand the needs of your clients around AI? Get in touch. We can provide a clearer picture of where they are set to invest, building on in-depth surveys and direct conversations. These insights will help you develop new tech services, refine existing ones, or adjust communication to better align with client demand.