Independent management consultants can utilize AI tools to bring a host of benefits to their consulting practice. This resource provides insights from 10 consultants on how to use AI Tools effectively as a consultant.
This resource is organized in 3 sections:
Tips for Using AI
The following are some tips shared by our presenters and members of the community.
General Tips:
- Mahmood Aziz provided an AI Cheatsheet Library with 25+ tips and tools for using AI.
- Michael Hoagland share some Example AI Use Cases from his experience.
- Generative AI may generate outputs with potential biases or factual errors, so thoroughly fact-check and synthesize everything.
- It’s helpful to keep track of the AI tools you use, your prompts, and the output so that you have a repository to refer back to. One suggested platform to do this is promptfolder.com.
- Courses and networks of other people using AI can be informative and helpful. LinkedIn and WhatsApp have very active groups around this.
- David Moyer provided this 7-part framework for any prompt:
Role and goal
Step-by-step
Expertise
Constraints
Personalization
Examples
Type of output
Sample Contract Language:
Tony Simas pointed out that it’s crucial to inform clients in the contract about your use of AI, the version employed, and how it’s being utilized. He provided some sample contract language that he uses. Please note that this is not legal advice—consult with your attorney regarding your own contract.
ChatGPT Team (GPT-4) may be utilized for brainstorming, content generation, research assistance, and grammar validation. ChatGPT Team has enhanced security features that ensures your data remains secure, and OpenAI has confirmed that this data will not be utilized to enhance its AI models. However, please be aware that ChatGPT is an AI tool and may generate content with potential biases or factual errors. We take measures to ensure accuracy of content by carefully reviewing and fact-checking all output before incorporating it into final deliverables. Your information privacy and data security are important to us. All data will be handled in accordance with relevant regulations.
ChatGPT Tips:
- If you will be using ChatGPT regularly, it’s worth paying for the upgraded version 4 (currently $20/month as of this writing). Note that if a chat becomes too long, the system may knock you down to the free ChatGPT 3.5 for a window of time. The workaround for this is to simply start a new chat, and it should allow you to use ChatGPT 4.
- If confidentiality is extremely important you might even look into ChatGPT 4 Teams, an enterprise version that commits to holding confidentiality for all information you input and not using your conversation or data to train their model.
- Limit your requests in the initial prompt. Asking for too much at once might result in less comprehensive answers. Instead, take your time and ask for more details for each section separately.
- After an initial output, hit the “Regenerate” button and you’ll often get a better response.
- Build everything outside of ChatGPT. If you ask it to amend what it’s already done, it tends to change everything. So, instead, update ChatGPT with the actual proposal or statement of work you ended up using. This will provide it with the proper context going forward.
- Sometimes, you might want to guide the AI by providing examples of steps you’d like it to include, or even specify how many phases you’d like the project to be divided into. In turn, ChatGPT will provide you with steps and deliverables within each phase. You can also ask ChatGPT if you need more context or information.
Tools Recommended by Members
Aggregator/Community:
- Hugging Face: AI community platform where the machine learning community collaborates on models, datasets, and applications.
- There’s an AI for That: A comprehensive database of thousands of AI tools available for hundreds of different tasks. It is updated daily and is used by over 500,000 people. It offers a smart AI search to help users find the best AI tools for any use case.
Design, Images, and Video:
- Adobe Express: All-in-one AI content creation app for making stunning social posts, images, videos, flyers, and more.
- Dall-E: Creates images from text captions for a wide range of concepts expressible in natural language.
- Midjourney: Generates images from natural language descriptions, called prompts.
- Invideo: Turn any content or idea into video, instantly.
Language Models:
- ChatGPT: Based on large language models, it enables users to refine and steer a conversation towards a desired length, format, style, level of detail, and language.
- Claude: AI assistant from Anthropic used to brainstorm ideas, analyze images, and process long documents.
- Google Gemini: Chat to supercharge your ideas, write, learn, plan and more.
- Microsoft Copilot: Copilot is integrated into Microsoft 365, combining the power of large language models (LLMs) with your data in the Microsoft Graph and the Microsoft 365 apps to turn your words into the most powerful productivity tool on the planet.
- Perplexity: AI-chatbot-powered research and conversational search engine that answers queries using natural language predictive text.
- PromptPerfect: Prompt optimization for models like GPT-4, ChatGPT and Midjourney. Generate and refine prompts to perfection, receiving improved outcomes in seconds.
Research:
- Beebee: Analyze unlisted company data, create knowledge bases, provide chatbots, and develop specialized intelligence analysis.
- Consensus: A search engine that uses AI to find insights in research papers.
Writing and Speech:
- Deepl Write: AI-powered writing assistant enables clear, confident communication in English and German, correcting grammar, optimizing word choice, and enhancing clarity and style.
- Eleven Labs: AI voice generator that renders human intonation and inflections with unrivaled fidelity, adjusting the delivery based on context.
- Grammarly: AI writing partner that helps you find the words you need—to write that tricky email, to get your point across, to keep your work moving.
- Hemingway: Editor that rewrites wordy sentences for you.
- Maestra: Subtitles, voiceovers and transcripts created automatically in just minutes. Leading artificial intelligence technology with advanced editing that can translate into 100+ languages.
- Otter: AI Meeting Assistant to transcribe meetings in real time, record audio, capture slides, extract action items, and generate an AI meeting
Additional Tools:
For more AI tools, see the Umbrex Resource: AI Tools for Independent Consultants
Presenters: How to Use AI Tools Effectively
Each presentation is summed up below, with the video and slides (if applicable). You can click any name to go directly there:
Tony Simas
Company: Client Growth Partners
Topic: Using ChatGPT through proposal, SOW, and project
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/tonysimas
Tony shared examples of prompts he uses when building proposals and during the project:
Proposal Phase
- I’m a strategy consultant working on a project with two main goals. Could you help me list out proposal steps with deliverables for each step?
- Write a detailed consulting proposal based on the below information: [INSERT]
Scope of Work Phase
- Build a statement of work, what are the steps that should be taken for each phase?
- How many days would consultants typically spend on each step?
- What steps can be done together and are not dependent on the previous steps?
Project Phase
- For Phase 2 Step 1 Requirements Gathering Workshops, can you please provide an agenda for the workshop with details of what prep-work should be done by the client and consultant?
- Write a letter to invite people to participate in the workshop that is exciting and encouraging. talking about how e-commerce will free up time for them to do what they enjoy: spending time learning about their customers and offering solutions.
- Make the letter shorter without losing enthusiasm, and draft both a formal and informal version.
You can download the Microsoft Word document of Tony’s training and example prompts.
Reza Pramudita
Company: Novus Integratio
Topic: Using Proprietary Data in PMO
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/rezapramudita/
Reza shared how his team of more than 40 people in different countries uses Microsoft Copilot to run more efficient meetings:
Pre-meeting:
- Copilot in Teams: Summarize updates in [/sharepoint address with Gantt chart], unanswered questions, and relevant communications.
- Copilot in Outlook: Draft an email to [target] requesting [follow up] with [specific tone] with reference to [/sharepoint address to the relevant files or email].
- Copilot in PowerPoint: Add a slide on [specific PMO topic] based on [/sharepoint address to the relevant files or email].
On meeting day:
- Copilot in Teams: Recap the meeting so far; review meeting agenda and identify gaps (or missing action plan).
- Copilot in Teams: Summarize this meeting and provide the key points and action.
Ayo Olajiga
Company: Leveli Consulting
Topic: Using Claude.ai to create client proposals
Ayo explained how he uses Claude.ai to help craft client proposals:
- Step 1. Feed notes from client meeting into Claude.ai.
- Step 2. Prompt: Claude, all of the above was based on our meeting held [date] with the company. The agreement is to come back with a proposal on how to work with them. Please use the information above to craft a proposal for my client.
- Step 3. Use the resulting output for client proposal.
Krishnan Subramanian
Company: Excelencia
Topic: Using ChatGPT to create training outlines and feed them into decks
Krishnan shared the Generative AI prompts he uses to create slide content for workshops and courses:
- Tools Used: ChatGPT, Claude.ai, Perplexity, Copilot, Midjourney, PowerPoint
- Main Prompt: I am designing a workshop/training for <D-level executives> on the topic <Crisis Management>, the session summary is <managing crisis in the manufacturing industry>, and the learning outcome is <how to plan, prepare and manage crisis>, I want you to generate:
- An immersive and impactful, session-wise set of slides/courseware for a <4 hours> workshop,
- Each slide should have detailed bullet points with topics and sub-topics and speaker notes with an explanation of each bullet point and relevant examples to quote or refer to,
- I will be using pictures in each slide, provide detailed picture prompts for each slide,
- I would also need link(s) for a few short YouTube videos for each slide which will help emphasize the topic,
- Suggest a compelling opening/introduction for the presentation/workshop that will capture the attention,
- The suggestions should contain the following: ice-breakers to engage with the audience, course slideware/material that I can use for preparing slides,
- A minimum of 5-6 creative slide transition ideas for each slide to keep the presentation engaging,
- A link to tool sets if suggested by you will be great,
- I want you to suggest case studies/use cases, and hands-on exercises to illustrate points in each slide,
- I would also need questionnaires that I can ask the participants either during the session or post to a particular session – this can be either a True/False or rating between 1-5 kind of questions
- Include a list of pre-workshop questions that I need to ask the participants so that it can help me structure the session,
- Add eye-popping/jaw-dropping titles for each slide,
- Very important that you suggest at least 3-5 highly impactful slide titles for the full presentation,
- It would be best if you did not forget to include a summary/conclusion slide(s),
- Provide supplementary material/resources to be referenced post-workshop,
- Provide a list of additional resources/reading material,
- A quiz or quizzes or knowledge checks for this session would also be useful.
Keith McNulty
Company: Digital Health Advisors
Topic: Using ChatGPT and Gemini for business development
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/keith-mcnulty/
Keith shared how he uses Generative AI to go from being a novice on a particular technology or topic to becoming well-informed, with potential use cases and value propositions.
Tools used: ChatGPT, Gemini
- Step 1: Develop prompt. Example: Can you describe a use case and value proposition for geospatial data science and intelligence technology, described below, for a large health insurance company?
- Step 2: Query AI. Example: For a large health insurance company, geospatial data science and intelligence technology can offer significant value propositions and use cases [AI lists these].
- Step 3: Refine output. Example: Use Case Hypothesis—Value Proposition for Health Insurance. Geospatial technology and population movement data can be incredibly valuable for a large health insurance company in several ways: [AI lists these].
Henri Dethier
Company: Möhrliberg Capital
Topic: Using DALL-E and other AI tools for text-to-speech, images, video, and interactive content
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/henri-dethier/
Henri explained how he uses AI tools to have a complete and versatile skill toolbox in his consulting work:
- Images: Generate pictures and visual elements with Gen AI Image tools (e.g. Dall-E).
- Presentation: Enhance, reformat, and assemble images in a visual and animated presentation flow using Adobe Express (included with Adobe Pro subscription).
- Text: Write an initial script for the presentation, or get some suggested scripts directly from ChatGPT, restyle and rewrite them with Deepl Write, and refine/reshape them back into Chat GPT. Manual editing may still be required to tailor the message.
- Voice: Map your script to an AI text-to-speech tool (such as Eleven Labs) to get a high-quality voiceover. If necessary, speed up the voice speed with another sound editing tool.
- Video: Revert to the Adobe express presentation, add the voiceover, and customize your sequences and animations. Finally, export a shareable mp4 video and you are good to go.
Greg Gilbert
Company: Orchestration Services Limited (OSL)
Topic: Using Claude.ai for smart surveys
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/greg-gilbert-osl/
Greg discussed how he uses AI survey agents to create quality surveys that can be used as a tool to engage clients. He demonstrated with an example of a Value Analysis Survey:
- Goal: Develop a capital allocation/corporate development based on first principles approach and value creation.
- Opportunity identification: Executives, other key internal stakeholders, customers, industry analysts, corp dev.
- Core competencies: Execs, product, operations, key external stakeholders.
- Market perspective: Execs, marketing, sales, equity analysts.
- Constraints and planning: Synthesize, share, confirm, and communicate.
A second example was a survey on Equity Analyst Perspectives on Development Options:
- Prompt: You are a helpful assistant designed to survey the user. Use the tool “get_analyst_perspectives” and respond via the tool and json message for your queries and responses.
- Tool: get_analyst_perspectives
- Description: Prompt the user for the required information as described below, asking as follows by putting your statement in the reply.
- Parameters:
- strategic acquisitions: In favor Acmi making strategic acquisitions of smaller companies in complementary industries?
- market acquisitions: In favor of Acmi making market acquisitions in vertically or horizontally adjacent industries?
- Al chip design: In favor of Acmi making a large capital investment in Al chip design?
- Al processing capacity: In favor of Acmi making a large capital investment in Al processing capacity (an agreement to purchase Al chips)?
- Al Open Source Models: In favor of Acmi making a large capital investment in training large-scale open source models?
- Al Proprietary Models: In favor of Acmi making a large capital investment in training large-scale open source models?
- Permission to use: We’d like to use this information to inform our planning. Is that ok? Your responses will be anonymous.
Alexander Lazarin
Company: Lazarin Consulting
Topic: Using ChatGPT, Midjourney, and custom-made GenAI tools
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/alexanderlazarin/
Alexander demonstrated how he uses Generative AI to conduct competitive intelligence for clients, using image summarization, text summarization, and image generation tools. As an example, he shared how he conducted this for a fashion brand client:
- Process brand images: Describe the brand name and upload images that represent the brand. The output is a description of the brand’s aesthetic.
- Process style images: Upload images of a style of product, not necessarily from the brand itself. The output is a suggestion of which of the images are most suitable for the client brand.
- Output image: A generated image based on these two steps, which is a mix of the aesthetic of the brand and the desired style to achieve.
Emad Ghaly
Company: SDSmena Ltd.
Topic: Using generative AI to optimize organizational and internal processes
Emad shared how he uses Generative AI tools to optimize processes.
Role-Task-Format (RTF) Prompts:
- Assume the role of a financial analyst. Provide an overview of the
implications of rising interest rates on the real estate market. Present
your findings in a bullet-pointed list. - I want you to act as a tour guide for customer journey visualization.
You will take me through a step-by-step process of how to visualize
customer journey effectively. Explain the best practices, tools, and
techniques for creating a customer journey map that highlights key
touchpoints that influence customer behavior. - I want you to act as a market strategist. You will develop strategic plans
for businesses based on market sizing and forecasting data, identifying
new market segments and opportunities.
Chain-of-Thought (CoT) Prompts:
- Let’s dissect the implications of a potential market downturn. Begin by
examining its immediate impact on our flagship product’s sales. Next,
let’s explore the potential effects on customer loyalty. Next, let’s
strategize potential recovery measures. - Let’s craft a go-to-market strategy for the [market]. Begin with market
analysis in [region]. Next, let’s explore the positioning of the top 3 players.
Next, let’s develop a strategy plan to improve the position of [company]. - What European soccer team won the Champions League the year Barcelona
hosted the Olympic games? Use this format:- Q: <repeat_question>
- A: Let’s think step by step. <give_reasoning> Therefore, the answer is <final_answer>.
Roles-Instructions-Steps-End goal-Narrowing (RISEN) Prompts:
- As a market researcher expert, I would like to request a detailed guide on conducting a gap analysis for digital transformation in Asia. Please begin by providing an in-depth overview of the current digital landscape in the region. Next, please outline the process for identifying potential gaps in technology adoption within the context of digital transformation. Finally, please conclude by presenting strategies to bridge these identified gaps. The ultimate objective is to develop a comprehensive roadmap for achieving effective digital transformation in Asia, with a specific emphasis on emerging technologies. Thank you for your insights and expertise on this matter.
- As a business development expert, provide a step-by-step guide on entering the Asian market. Begin with a cultural and economic overview, followed by potential barriers to entry, and conclude with partnership opportunities. The end goal is to establish a preliminary entry strategy. Narrow the focus to the technology sector.
Additional Resource: AI Tools for Independent Consultants