Should consultants disclose their use of AI?

Yes. Clients' trust falls sharply when AI use is discovered after the fact, as the Deloitte Australia case showed. A written disclosure in the proposal is the standard to expect.

Is fixed-fee consulting better than hourly?

For the client, usually. Fixed fees put the risk of efficiency on the firm and remove its incentive to hide productivity gains from AI.

Briefing / 2026-09-03 / 6 min read

Ten Questions to Ask Before Hiring a Consultant or Research Firm in 2026

A buyer's checklist for the era of AI-assisted advice. Ten questions, the answers that should worry you, and the answers a trustworthy firm gives.

Before hiring a consultant or research firm in 2026, a buyer should establish where AI is used in delivery, whether every source can be inspected, who verified each claim, who signs the conclusion, and what commercial relationships the firm holds with vendors it may recommend. These ten questions cover each point.

The ten questions

1. Where, specifically, will AI be used on our engagement?

Worrying answer: a paragraph about innovation. Good answer: a list. Scheduling, transcription, coding, first drafts. And a sentence about where it will not be used.

2. Can we see the source list before we sign?

Worrying answer: "We will share our methodology." Good answer: a draft interview profile and target count, and a commitment to a provenance appendix in the deliverable.

3. Who, by name, verifies each citation and how?

Worrying answer: "Our quality process." Good answer: a named person and a verification log you can request.

4. Who signs the recommendation?

Worrying answer: "The firm stands behind all our work." Good answer: a name.

5. What is your commercial relationship with any vendor you might recommend?

Worrying answer: "We are vendor-agnostic." Good answer: a written disclosure of every alliance, reseller and referral arrangement, or a statement that there are none.

6. How do you price, and why?

Worrying answer: a day rate. Good answer: a fixed fee for a defined outcome, and a reason. Time-based pricing gives the firm an incentive to hide how much faster AI has made the work.

7. What share of your sample is identity-verified?

Worrying answer: a description of the panel provider's quality checks. Good answer: a percentage, ideally 100.

8. Who will actually do the interviews?

Worrying answer: "Our team." Good answer: the name of the senior person conducting the key conversations.

9. What happens if you find an error after delivery?

Worrying answer: silence. Good answer: a correction, in writing, to everyone who received the original.

10. Will you tell us not to do it?

Worrying answer: enthusiasm. Good answer: "Yes, and here is the last time we did."

Why these questions

Each maps to a failure that has actually happened. Fabricated citations at Deloitte and PwC. Survey panels a third full of bots. Advisers allied with the vendors they assess. Fee negotiations, like KPMG pressing its own auditor for an AI discount, that reveal how time-based pricing hides productivity gains. Strategy handed off to execution by people who will never be accountable for whether it worked.

Theory Intelligence answers all ten on this website. Where AI is used: The Theory Standard. Who signs: About. What it costs: Services.

Sources

Cite thisTheory Intelligence, "Ten Questions to Ask Before Hiring a Consultant or Research Firm in 2026", theoryintelligence.com, 2026-09-03. https://theoryintelligence.com/briefing/questions-to-ask-before-hiring-a-consultant-about-ai/