Hamel Husain says big consultancies keep overengineering enterprise AI

HamelHusain · x · 2026-07-22

Hamel Husain says he has rarely seen good results when large consultancies like McKinsey or Accenture build AI systems for clients.
In his experience across 25+ companies, the recurring pattern is an overcomplicated solution, a heavy slide deck, and unnecessary jargon such as “knowledge graph ontology.”
He argues the practical fix is usually to tear the system down and add complexity only when there is a measurable reason.
He also says the incentive structure of big consulting creates long-term dependency, and questions whether mass deployment of this model can create real value.

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