AI has a branding problem right now. Its brand positioning is ‘complex’. AI’s complexity invokes fear. Fears about job security. Fears about data privacy. Fears about technology proficiently barriers.

This isn't great for the average Australian, but some are happy to keep AI’s brand as complex.

For the Big 4 consultancies, who have been known to flourish in ambiguity, it’s a golden opportunity. They’ve capitalised on the growing demand for AI-driven solutions, generating billions in global revenue. Deloitte ($23.2 billion), PwC ($22.6 billion), EY ($16.1 billion), and KPMG ($15.9 billion) alone made a staggering $US77.8 billion from AI advisory services last year.

The allure of AI for the Big 4

AI promises to revolutionise business processes, offering unparalleled efficiencies and insights. It promises all this in the same lofty but complex way martech’s offered to ‘solve’ CX for organisations. So it’s no wonder that the Big 4 consultancies have eagerly embraced this potential, offering AI-based solutions that claim to transform everything from customer service to supply chain management.

Yet, despite their impressive revenues, Australia’s AI landscape tells a different story. According to the National Artificial Intelligence Centre, only 11 per cent of companies globally report significant benefits from AI investments. In Australia, this figure is even lower, with many organisations struggling to implement AI effectively, with only 9 per cent of Australian companies leveraging GenAI. Despite this investment in AI advisory from Australian businesses in the Big 4, the impact remains low. Shock!

The complexity of AI

AI’s complexity remains its most significant barrier. Business leaders are often daunted by the abstract nature of AI, perceiving it as a threat rather than a tool. For someone that believes in making things simple, this is problematic. For starters I believe that we should stop talking about AI in big UPPERCASE generic terms. We should be talking about AI in lowercase. We should be breaking it down into its component parts, and only talking in specifics. Therefore, ai becomes not only manageable, but transforms into an additive tool instead of an existential threat.

Combatting the fear factor

The AFR published a fear inducing headline: “AI could claim 30% of executive jobs in two years”. Big, complex, existential AI, coming for your job. Quick, pick up the phone and call a consultancy. However, when you make AI for CEOs lowercase by breaking it down, it reveals a very different story.

Let’s look at three challenges that CEOs face on a daily basis that ‘ai’ could help solve, if only it were made simple enough for the busiest minds in Australia to quickly adopt.

Challenge one: “There aren’t enough hours in the day”. Lowercase ‘ai’ can help boost productivity in many ways. Whilst most leaders won’t need assistant tools such as Motion – although this may free their EAs up to handle more important tasks – there are many ways ‘ai’ can help add hours to the day. If you’re a CEO and you’re not using an enterprise level chatGPT that is personalised to your needs, I guarantee you can save some precious hours. Whether it’s summarising lengthy reports and offering a point of view on how the data could be used to inform decision-making (useful for 60 page consultancy reports on AI for example), or personalising chatGPT to give its answers in a table with a rationale and pros and cons, creating an enterprise chatGPT keeps confidential information secure, while giving tailored answers to your business. If you really want to go deep, speak to your IT team about creating a custom GPT that is trained on key information about your brand, customers and business objectives, and use it as a decision-making partner for both you and your employees, to help make more consistent decisions across the organisation.

Challenge two: “I want more up to the minute data on my customers but I’m already drowning in data as it is”. Data complexity remains a huge problem for organisations. We now have access to more data than ever before, but when leaders are in the pursuit of those golden nuggets of insights, more data can make it feel like looking for a needle in a haystack. Whilst regular in-depth sessions to listen to customers remains the best way to truly close the gap between business strategy and customer needs, traditional market research processes are costly, slow and lack scale. New AI business intelligence tools can help deliver the same depth of one on one interviews, much faster and much cheaper than traditional methods, helping you stay close to how your customer is really feeling on a much more regular basis.

Challenge three: “How do I boost revenue, whilst lowering costs”. This old mantra, whilst slightly clichéd, remains true. Whilst there is still a lot of nervousness around GenAI, from copyright concerns to output quality, the cost-cutting benefits are potentially huge. Brands that rely on large Getty image subscriptions could see up to 40 per cent cost savings by building GenAI brand image libraries. Look for partners with proven quality output at scale, an LLM training process, transparent production policies (think Adobe’s CR badge) indemnity insurance and clear pricing models.

The role for consultancies

Consultancies undoubtedly will play a crucial role in guiding businesses through AI adoption. However, whilst the Big 4’s extensive resources and expertise position them as leaders in AI consulting, history tells us that they will continue to profit in big AI’s complexity. Instead, leaders seeking simplification should turn elsewhere, seeking partners that focus on simplifying AI and making it accessible. This involves education, collaboration and immediate action.

Big AI’s complexity can be daunting, but with the right approach, ‘ai’ becomes a powerful ally in simplifying business processes. The Big 4 have capitalised on this potential, driving significant revenue through AI consulting. However, the real value of AI lies in its ability to augment human capabilities and deliver tangible benefits. By breaking AI into many smaller “ai” chunks, we can unlock its full potential and dispel the fear surrounding it.