Turning AI's potential into day-to-day reality is a challenge for workers and bosses. While predictions range from mass layoffs to supercharged productivity, understanding where AI assists rather than replaces remains complex. Generative AI has made creating presentations quicker, easing the junior consultant's lot.

However, the biggest efficiencies often lie on the input side. Major consulting firms have sped up employee onboarding by making institutional knowledge searchable through in-house tools like Lilli at Mc Kinsey, Sage at Bain & Company, and Pw C's Chat Pw C. This can shave days off basic research, allowing more time for brainstorming.

The latest frontier involves audio formats; Mc Kinsey consultants can now access information via bespoke podcasts they can interrupt and question. Recent cost concerns regarding AI "tokens" have led some smaller firms to impose usage limits or remove access from infrequent users. This pressure has caused unusual behaviors, with some employees asking trivial questions just to log usage.

Beyond consultancy, the world's largest oil companies, Shell and BP with nearly 100,000 employees each, are using AI to outsource drudgery. Shell's CEO Wael Sawan notes AI handles 90 per cent of non-disclosure agreements, freeing lawyers for complex matters. Dashboards proliferate, offering predictive maintenance suggestions for pipelines.

Exploration experts use AI to decode seismic readings, transforming back-office drudgery into data-driven decisions.