In a groundbreaking internal experiment conducted by SAP, the company sought to explore the perceptions of consultants regarding AI-generated work. The findings from this study not only shed light on the biases that exist within the consulting industry but also highlight the transformative potential of AI tools in enhancing productivity and shifting the focus of consultants from technical execution to strategic business insights.
The experiment involved five teams of consultants who were tasked with validating answers to over 1,000 business requirements generated by SAP’s AI co-pilot, Joule for Consultants. This workload would typically require several weeks of effort from human consultants. However, the AI was able to complete the task in a fraction of the time, showcasing its efficiency and capability.
In a carefully designed setup, four of the teams were informed that the analysis had been completed by junior interns fresh out of school. These teams reviewed the material and found it impressive, ultimately rating the work at approximately 95% accuracy. The fifth team, however, was told that the same answers had been generated by an AI system. This revelation led them to reject almost all of the responses outright, demonstrating a clear bias against AI-generated content.
The pivotal moment came when the fifth team was asked to validate each answer individually. As they meticulously reviewed the responses, they discovered that the AI’s output was indeed highly accurate, mirroring the ratings given by the other teams. The overall accuracy remained around 95%, underscoring the effectiveness of the AI despite the initial skepticism.
Guillermo B. Vazquez Mendez, chief architect of RI business transformation and architecture at SAP America Inc., emphasized the critical lesson learned from this experiment: the need for caution in how AI is introduced and communicated to senior consultants. He noted that the perception of AI can significantly influence the acceptance of its outputs, even when those outputs are objectively strong.
This experiment has become a cornerstone for SAP’s vision of the “Consultant of 2030,” a professional who is deeply human yet empowered by AI technologies. The goal is to create a workforce that is no longer bogged down by the technical grunt work of the past but instead focuses on delivering high-quality insights and solutions to clients.
Historically, consultants have spent about 80% of their time understanding technical systems—how processes run, how data flows, and how functions execute. In contrast, customers typically spend 80% of their time focused on their business objectives. This mismatch in focus presents a significant opportunity for AI tools like Joule to bridge the gap. By taking on the heavy technical lifting, AI allows consultants to redirect their energy toward understanding the customer’s industry and business goals, ultimately driving better business outcomes.
The introduction of AI copilots is not intended to replace the expertise of seasoned consultants; rather, it aims to amplify their capabilities. Vazquez articulated this sentiment, stating, “What Joule really does is make their very expensive time far more effective. It removes the clerical work, so they can focus on turning out high-quality answers in a fraction of the time.” This shift in focus is crucial as it enables consultants to leverage their institutional knowledge and experience in more impactful ways.
Moreover, the integration of AI into consulting practices is transforming the onboarding process for new hires. Junior consultants are now able to ramp up faster because Joule assists them in operating independently. This independence is particularly beneficial in a field where the learning curve can be steep. Senior consultants, on the other hand, can engage where their insights matter most, mentoring junior staff while also adapting to the evolving landscape of AI technology.
A significant aspect of working with AI copilots involves prompt engineering—the skill of crafting effective prompts to elicit high-quality responses from the AI. For instance, consultants can instruct Joule to act as a senior chief technology architect specializing in finance and SAP S/4HANA 2023, then request it to analyze business requirements and present the output in structured formats such as tables or PowerPoint slides. As consultants learn to frame their prompts effectively, they consistently receive higher-quality, more structured answers.
This dynamic also fosters clearer communication between new architects and their more experienced counterparts. Junior consultants, equipped with a better understanding of what they don’t know, can ask targeted questions, facilitating smoother mentorship relationships. This synergy encourages senior consultants to keep pace with technological advancements, as they witness firsthand how quickly new hires adapt and learn with AI.
Looking ahead, the future of AI copilots appears promising. Vazquez describes the current state of AI as being in its “baby steps,” emphasizing that while prompt engineering is essential for obtaining good answers today, the next phase will involve AI systems moving beyond mere response generation. As these systems mature, they will begin to interpret entire business processes, understanding the sequence of steps involved, identifying where human intervention is necessary, and recognizing opportunities for AI agents to take over specific tasks.
SAP’s extensive repository of process knowledge, which includes over 3,500 mapped business processes across various industries, positions the company uniquely to facilitate this evolution. This wealth of information, combined with the daily support of approximately $7.3 trillion in global commerce through SAP systems, provides a rich foundation for developing increasingly autonomous AI agents capable of solving complex challenges.
Vazquez envisions a future where consultants are equipped with agentic AI—intelligent systems that can autonomously navigate and reason over intricate business processes. This advancement could lead to a significant leap forward in the consulting industry, enabling professionals to focus on strategic decision-making and high-value activities rather than getting bogged down in technical details.
As the consulting landscape continues to evolve, it is clear that the integration of AI will play a pivotal role in shaping the future of work. The lessons learned from SAP’s internal experiment serve as a reminder of the importance of addressing biases and perceptions surrounding AI technologies. By fostering a culture of openness and adaptability, organizations can harness the full potential of AI to enhance productivity, drive innovation, and ultimately deliver greater value to clients.
In conclusion, the journey toward integrating AI into consulting practices is just beginning. As organizations like SAP continue to explore the capabilities of AI copilots, the focus will remain on empowering human consultants to leverage their expertise in conjunction with advanced technologies. The future promises smarter tools, improved outcomes, and a workforce that is not only more efficient but also more capable of addressing the complex challenges of tomorrow’s business environment. The path forward is one of collaboration between humans and machines, where the strengths of each can be harnessed to achieve unprecedented levels of success.