The AI Daily Brief: Artificial Intelligence News and Analysis

Host: Nathaniel Whittemore (NLW)
Episode: How AI Eats Consulting
Date: July 2, 2025

Episode Overview

In this episode, NLW analyzes a seismic shift underway in the consulting industry as artificial intelligence—and, increasingly, AI-native companies like OpenAI—move aggressively into traditional consulting territory. He discusses news of OpenAI doubling down on consulting services, the emergence of the "forward deployed engineer" role, and the existential threat these trends present to incumbent consulting giants like Accenture and McKinsey. The episode also touches on the evolving strategies of major technology players (Meta, Apple) and spotlights how the convergence of software, services, and AI is reshaping industry moats and margins.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Meta's Superintelligence Team Announcement

[00:45–07:11]

• Zuckerberg’s AI Ambition: Just an hour after NLW discussed the AI talent war on a previous episode, Mark Zuckerberg formally announced Meta’s new Superintelligence division, dubbed Meta Superintelligence Labs (MSL).
  • Alexander Wang (ex-Scale CEO) to lead as Chief AI Officer and head of MSL.
  • Nat Friedman (ex-GitHub) also joins, with new hires nabbed from OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google DeepMind.
  • The team's exact research vs. product focus isn't clear but appears to have a broad mandate.
• Industry Skepticism: The Information described the group as a “product of a massive spending spree” that’s "highly combustible" due to egos and unclear direction.
  • “Any group with a lot of big egos working under intense pressures from a controlling chief executive is going to have trouble staying together.” (The Information, paraphrased, [05:16])
• Compensation Mania: Sarah Guo (Conviction) notes the emergence of "athlete-like agents" for AI researchers negotiating comp packages.
• NLW’s View: While skepticism is warranted, the “dream team” effect could build real momentum:
  • “They joined because they thought that if they all joined at the same time, there was a real chance that they could be first to this coveted goal. That creates excitement and—like I said—momentum that I don’t think all these media reports are quite giving enough credence to.” ([06:49])

2. Apple’s AI Gamble: Outsourcing Siri

[07:12–14:21]

• Apple in Talks with OpenAI/Anthropic: Bloomberg reports Apple is exploring finally outsourcing the AI powering Siri instead of relying on internal large language models.
  • Anthropic’s Claude reportedly outperformed rivals in initial tests.
  • This move comes as internal morale suffers, with some Apple AI staff disillusioned by the prospect of using third-party tech.
• Industry Reaction: AI analyst Signal sees it as:
  • “A metaphysical betrayal of their own DNA. OpenAI and Anthropic don’t need Apple, but Apple desperately needs one of them… If consumers realize that Siri does not equal Apple anymore, that it’s powered by OpenAI or Anthropic, then what exactly is Apple’s IP? A thin shell over someone else’s mind that kills the aura of vertical magic.” ([13:07])
• NLW’s Counterpoint: For the average user, efficacy trumps provenance:
  • “All that the average consumer wants is for Siri to work. If it works, they’re not going to care or ask questions about how it works.” ([13:49])
  • “Apple still has an incredible number of installed devices, billions around the world. Getting access to that distribution at a time when models are highly commoditized and getting more so is nothing to sneeze at.” ([14:04])

3. AI Coding Update: Cursor’s Mobile Web App

[14:22–16:35]

• Product News: Cursor, the AI coding platform, launches a web app for coding agents—its first full-featured mobile interface.
• User Feedback: Developer Nick Dobos raves,
  • “Cursor on mobile is here and it’s amazing… I will never not be amazed to be merging PRs while riding Peloton. I’m never touching a laptop again.” ([15:20])
• NLW Reflection: The move to voice/mobile interactions for coding robots reflects how “interrogating [AI] and using our voice to tell it what to do, that’s something that really can be done for mobile.” ([16:18])

4. Main Topic: How AI Eats Consulting

[19:00–41:00]

A. The Boom—and Looming Threat—for Consultants

• Current State: AI boom has fueled a bonanza for consultancies, but their business faces disruption as AI matures.
  • “It feels very, very clear that while there is a massive short term opportunity for consulting…AI represents a fairly existential threat to their models.” ([19:35])
• AI as Knowledge Workers:
  • “To the extent you view consulting as experts with specialized knowledge being smart about how to gather information, process that information and turn that into advice—a lot of that certainly sounds like things that AI and LLMs are very good at.” ([20:10])

B. OpenAI Moves into Consulting: The Palantirification of Everything

[21:00–27:30]

• The New Model: OpenAI is now staffing up for a services arm, echoing Palantir:
  • Offering “consulting like” services: fine-tuning models for enterprise clients, often requiring a $10M minimum spend.
  • “These engineers also develop applications powered by customized models…such as chatbots.” ([22:35])
• Forward Deployed Engineers (FDE):
  • OpenAI hiring FDEs, who operate much like Palantir FDEs—embedded, technically creative problem solvers focused on maximizing client success with an AI platform.
  • Palantir FDE’s description: “A Forward Deployed Software engineer is a software engineer who embeds directly with our customers to configure Palantir’s existing software platforms to solve their toughest problems…Unlike consultants, we can pull most of the pieces together out of the box, meaning we don’t need to reinvent the wheel for each customer…” ([25:12])
  • NLW’s verdict: “They are absolutely undeniably a new category of consultant.”
• Trend Acceleration: All major AI companies now employ variations of this FDE/services approach to maximize enterprise adoption.

C. Changing the Moat: From PLG to Embedded Services

[27:31–33:41]

• Andreessen Horowitz Research: NLW cites the a16z post “Trading Margin for Moat”:
  • Previously, “product-led growth” (PLG) was king—fast scaling, high margin.
  • Big successes in the last platform shifts came from companies willing to do “implementation heavy” work (Salesforce, Workday, ServiceNow):
    • “Their combined value dwarfs out of the top PLG companies, and it’s not even close…the customization effort initially results in lower gross margins and higher burn rates…” ([30:17])
  • The AI platform shift is different and potentially better for incumbents, because AI itself can automate the messy work of integration.
  • “Once those workflows and behaviors are established, these companies possess moats that allow them to increase prices and build implementation ecosystems.” ([32:03])

D. What is OpenAI Really Doing?

[33:42–37:28]

• Competition or Validation?
  • NLW: “The line that I don’t totally agree with is the idea that it puts OpenAI into quasi competition with Palantir and Accenture…It’s pretty clear to me as a fairly close observer that OpenAI1 is going to do whatever it takes to continue to grow adoption of their tools and two has a strong sense that owning the customer relationship is really going to matter.” ([34:15])
  • OpenAI works with both startups like Tribe AI/Fractional and integrators like PwC for implementation, validating FDE as a playbook but not making it their sole strategy.

E. AI’s Pressure on Consulting Revenue and Pricing

[37:29–39:45]

• Price Pressure: Early evidence suggests AI is undercutting consulting prices:
  • Dan Priest, PwC Chief AI Officer: “Clients would hear us talking about using AI and say we want our fair share of those efficiencies. We certainly, as appropriate, give our clients the pricing benefit of the efficiencies we’re achieving.” ([38:32])
• NLW Example: His own firm can do with AI in days what old-school consultants would have billed hundreds of thousands for over months:
  • “We’re offering it for less than a tenth of that in days. And if we’re taking out the discovery portion of what consultants have historically done, other companies are nibbling at all the other parts as well.” ([39:10])

F. The Existential Question for Consulting

[39:46–41:00]

• Industry in Flux: Echoing the Economist’s question, “Who needs Accenture in the age of AI?” ([39:55])
  • Accenture’s returns are falling as bookings drop, and AI threatens the very foundation of the consulting business.
  • “Obviously I think that there is a lot of room for evolution and adaptation. But like in almost every industry, the reality is that consulting and professional services will not look the same in a year—or certainly five or 10 years—as it does now.” ([40:29])
  • New competition is swarming from “software companies, NEO consulting companies, product companies…Everyone, it seems, is now in the business of technology and services all at once.” ([40:43])

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Meta’s AI Dream Team:

  • “Any group with a lot of big egos working under intense pressures from a controlling chief executive is going to have trouble staying together.”
    — The Information ([05:16])
  • “They joined because they thought that if they all joined at the same time, there was a real chance that they could be first to this coveted goal. That creates excitement and—like I said—momentum that I don’t think all these media reports are quite giving enough credence to.” — NLW ([06:49])

• On Apple’s AI Pivot:

  • “Absolutely astonishing. Apple used to own the full stack… Now they’re outsourcing the one layer that will define the next decade of computing. OpenAI and Anthropic don’t need Apple, but Apple desperately needs one of them.” — Signal ([13:07])
  • “All that the average consumer wants is for Siri to work. If it works, they’re not going to care or ask questions about how it works.”
    — NLW ([13:49])

• On Forward Deployed Engineers:

  • “A Forward Deployed Software engineer is a software engineer who embeds directly with our customers to configure Palantir’s existing software platforms to solve their toughest problems…While a traditional software engineer or Dev focuses on creating a single capability that can be used for many customers, forward deployed engineers focus on enabling many capabilities for a single customer.”
    — Palantir Blog Quoted ([25:12])
  • “They are absolutely undeniably a new category of consultant.”
    — NLW ([25:46])

• On Consulting’s Future:

  • “Having made a fortune telling others how to adapt to newfangled tech, [Accenture] now faces the self same predicament in the age of general artificial intelligence. As semi-autonomous gen AI agents sweep the world, who needs consultants now?”
    — The Economist ([39:55])
  • “The reality is that consulting and professional services will not look the same in a year—or certainly five or 10 years—as it does now. The companies that are able to nimbly adapt to that and change could build incredible enduring legacies.”
    — NLW ([40:29])

Timestamps for Important Segments

• Meta Superintelligence Team Announcement: [00:45–07:11]
• Apple’s AI Outsourcing & Industry Reaction: [07:12–14:21]
• Cursor Mobile Launch / User Feedback: [14:22–16:35]
• Main Topic - Consulting Disruption:
  • Current State of Consulting & AI Threat: [19:00–21:00]
  • OpenAI's Consulting Arm & FDE Role: [21:00–27:30]
  • Margin vs. Moat, PLG vs. Services: [27:31–33:41]
  • OpenAI’s Partnerships & Strategy: [33:42–37:28]
  • Pricing Pressures on Consulting: [37:29–39:45]
  • Existential Questions for Consulting: [39:46–41:00]

Conclusion

NLW paints a vivid picture of an industry on the precipice of transformation. AI is not just a tool for productivity but a force upending the consulting world: what was high-margin, human-distilled expertise is now being commoditized, automated, and eaten by its own offspring. Giants like OpenAI are moving aggressively to own the customer relationship directly, new hybrid consulting/software models are emerging, and incumbents will need to adapt rapidly or risk obsolescence. As he puts it, consulting is “not going to look the same” very soon—and everyone, it seems, is in the services business now.

(Ads, intro, and outro sections have been omitted for clarity and conciseness.)