Deloitte predicts AI agents kill billable hours by 2035
deloitte managers project ai agents will dominate the consulting market by 2035, replacing the billable hour model. this signals a forced shift to fixed-price models that threatens firm revenues and consultant job security.
deloitte consultants were briefed on a projection that ai agents will exponentially grow to dominate the professional services market by 2035, rendering the traditional hourly billing model a small fraction of revenue. internal charts showed the core hourly business collapsing, prompting comparisons to software models where firms sell fixed-price solutions rather than human labor. competitors like mckinsey have already shifted over 30 percent of fees to outcome-based models, described as an 'existential scramble' to survive ai's impact on margins. the transition introduces risks like unpredictable cash flow and client disputes over subjective success metrics, while staff fear being replaced by the very tools the firm is deploying.