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by Andrei Croitor

Stay Competitive: AI In The Tools You Already Use

Management consulting thrives on precision, insight, and the ability to quickly adapt to complex challenges. But for many firms, the pressure to innovate often feels like an overwhelming wave, crashing against workflows that are rooted in habit and familiarity. Surprisingly, most are casually ignoring a potential breakthrough in productivity; the tools they use daily are far more powerful than they realize.

The very tools you rely on every day are hiding capabilities that could change how you work. The AI revolution isn’t something waiting on the horizon; it’s already embedded in the most prevalent platforms. And yet, for many, these AI-driven features remain untapped, buried beneath layers of routine use.

Let’s look at your current toolbox. Platforms like Microsoft 365—a staple in nearly every consulting firm—have quietly evolved. These tools are no longer just for spreadsheets, presentations, and email. Integrated AI, such as Copilot in Microsoft 365, is transforming the way professionals manage their work. The systems you’re already familiar with have become much smarter, offering powerful assistance that most firms are still treating like a basic word processor or project tracker.

Beyond the Basics: AI in Tools You Already Use

Consider the typical consulting workflow: emails, documents, spreadsheets, data, presentations, and project management. Each of these tasks demands attention to detail, accuracy, and a steady hand to ensure client deliverables are on time and aligned with expectations. But this is where hidden AI tools can step in and dramatically amplify your efficiency.

Take Microsoft Word. What most firms don’t know is that with Copilot, Word doesn’t just format text and correct grammar—it generates summaries, drafts reports based on client data, and even suggests next steps based on your writing. What used to take an entire afternoon of drafting, reviewing, and editing can now be reduced to minutes. Yet, how many teams are actively using these capabilities?

Or Excel, where manual data entry and formula management have long been necessary evils. With integrated AI, Excel is now capable of recognizing patterns in your data, generating forecasts, and automatically creating pivot tables with insights that would have previously required deep manual analysis. Teams still grind through sheets of numbers, unaware that AI can give them the analysis they need with a few clicks.

Even Outlook, which most consultants treat as just an inbox, is now equipped with AI that helps prioritize your workload, draft responses, and even set up meetings automatically based on the tone and content of incoming messages. It’s no longer just a communication tool—it’s a workflow optimizer hiding in plain sight.

A Missed Opportunity in Plain Sight

The key to staying competitive isn’t always about adopting entirely new platforms or diving headfirst into an unfamiliar AI product. Often, it’s about leveraging the advanced capabilities of the tools your team already knows. For consultants, this realization can mean the difference between remaining stagnant and pushing your firm to the front of the pack.

Many firms are still unaware of how seamlessly AI is integrated into the systems they’re already paying for. This isn’t about disruption; it’s about tapping into an existing opportunity. The mistake isn’t even in avoiding AI—it’s in not recognizing that AI is already there, waiting to be unleashed.

Consulting teams spend countless hours on repetitive tasks that now have AI-driven solutions baked into their daily tools. Time that could be used for strategy and client relationships is spent bogged down in processes that could be streamlined with the push of a button. Most have grown so accustomed to the pain they are oblivious to a better experience.

Using AI to Multiply Human Insight

As I keep saying; the real power of AI isn’t in replacing consultants’ expertise; it’s in multiplying it. When used right, AI becomes an extension of the consultant, taking care of the manual work so that the human can focus on what AI can’t do: strategic thinking, deep analysis, and client engagement.

Imagine drafting a client report that took hours before, but now only requires review because the first draft has already been built based on your key metrics. Or think about walking into a client meeting with forecasts and data analysis that’s been automatically generated and visually presented in PowerPoint. The client sees your insight, but what they don’t see is the AI working tirelessly behind the scenes to empower you.

Your value as a consultant doesn’t diminish because AI helps you do your work faster. It increases because now you’re able to focus on the areas where your expertise is most critical. Clients don’t care how long it takes you to generate a report; they care about the insights you bring to the table.

How to Start Unlocking AI in Your Workflow

You don’t need to overhaul your entire system to start benefiting from AI. Start by exploring the tools you already have:

  • Activate Copilot in Microsoft Word: The next time you draft a client proposal or internal memo, use Copilot to generate a draft based on previous reports. Review how much time you save in structuring and editing.
  • Use Excel’s AI-powered Data Insights: Automate the creation of visual insights and forecasts. You’ll be surprised at how quickly the data you spend hours analyzing can be visualized in seconds.
  • Leverage AI in Outlook: Automate email responses, prioritize tasks, and let AI handle the scheduling of client meetings. Notice how much more streamlined your communication becomes when routine tasks are handled for you.

Small shifts in how you use these tools will lead to significant gains in both time and focus. The platforms you’ve been using for years have become smarter; the question now is whether you’re ready to use them at their full potential.

What Will You Do Differently?

The AI isn’t looming—it’s already part of your daily routine, embedded in the systems you use without thinking twice. You don’t need to discover and implement the newest tools; the first step is fully unlocking the ones that are already in your hands.


What’s the first AI feature you’ll activate in your existing workflow?

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