How AI is Transforming Management Consulting: Paving the Way Toward Consulting 5.0

This article provides a structured analysis of how AI and generative AI are transforming management consulting by augmenting—rather than replacing—consultants across the full consulting lifecycle. Using the ISO 20700:2017 standard as a reference framework, it examines how AI can support the contracting, execution, and closing stages of consulting projects through faster data analysis, hypothesis generation, ideation, presentation development, quality assurance, and knowledge management. The article also highlights clear limitations of AI, particularly in areas requiring human judgment, empathy, negotiation, and change management. Beyond project-level impacts, it explores broader implications for consulting firms, including productivity gains, improved decision-making, and enhanced knowledge reuse, while addressing legal, ethical, and technical risks such as data privacy, intellectual property, bias, accountability, and model degradation. The article concludes with a forward-looking vision—Consulting 5.0—where AI, quantum computing, and Web 3.0 combine with human expertise to create sustainable, human-centered consulting models focused on long-term value creation.