McKinsey plans every employee to work with AI agents

Consulting firms are rapidly embracing AI, with McKinsey & Company reporting the addition of 25,000 AI agents in less than two years. CEO Bob Sternfels said that within the next 18 months, every one of the firm’s 40,000 employees will be enabled by at least one AI agent, reflecting a major internal digital transformation.

Not all competitors see scale as a meaningful measure. EY’s global engineering chief, Steve Newman, emphasized that “some of the best value comes from just a handful of agents that are doing the heavy lifting.” For EY, efficiency, productivity, and quality — rather than sheer numbers — define the impact of AI deployment. PwC’s chief AI officer, Dan Priest, echoed the sentiment, noting that the effectiveness of AI should be assessed by output quality, not agent quantity.

The debate highlights a broader trend in consulting: firms are not only integrating AI internally but also positioning themselves as advisors for companies seeking guidance on AI adoption. EY invests over $1 billion annually in AI-first platforms and products, deploying more than 100 internal AI applications and building 1,000 AI agents to support consultants.

For McKinsey, the scale of AI adoption reflects ambition to enable every consultant with AI-powered support, aiming to enhance productivity and decision-making across teams. Yet the industry conversation suggests that strategic deployment and measurable results may ultimately matter more than the number of agents.

As consulting firms continue to integrate AI at unprecedented speeds, the focus is increasingly on how these tools are used to create tangible business value, rather than simply counting the agents on the roster.