Opinion | AI renders analysis cheap, relationships expensive
Summary
AI is making analysis cheap, but small expert firms are finding that client relationships and timely judgment are becoming the real source of value. The firms that survive will be the ones that turn their best rainmakers’ knowledge into a system that can outlast any one person.
Key Points
- AI is rapidly commoditizing analyst work such as research, memos and first-draft decks.
- Small expert firms still rely heavily on referrals and a few senior rainmakers for most of their revenue.
- The core advantage in a world of abundant AI tools is relationship discipline, not raw analysis.
- Firms that institutionalize relationship intelligence may outlast those dependent on one or two partners.
