AI as a Double-Edged Sword in Advisory Services

Few technologies have transformed the professional world as rapidly as artificial intelligence. In just a few years, it has fundamentally changed the way we search for information, analyse documents and resolve questions that, until recently, required the assistance of a specialist.

Today, any business owner can obtain a reasonably accurate explanation within seconds about the tax treatment of a transaction, the differences between corporate structures or the legal requirements for expanding into another jurisdiction. The barriers to accessing technical knowledge have been dramatically reduced and, as a result, the relationship between businesses and professional advisers is also evolving.

From our perspective, this is excellent news. Artificial intelligence democratises access to information, reduces the time required for repetitive tasks and allows professionals to work far more efficiently than ever before. At the same time, however, it introduces what may be its greatest double-edged effect on the advisory profession.

Clients No Longer Seek Answers Alone

For decades, much of an adviser’s value lay in their ability to access and interpret technical knowledge that was not readily available to clients. That reality has changed. Increasingly, meetings begin with business owners who have already consulted multiple sources, experimented with AI tools or even prepared their own preliminary analysis before speaking to a professional.

Rather than reducing the value of advisory services, this shift is changing what clients expect from them.

The conversation is no longer focused solely on how something can be done. More often than not, it centres on whether it should be done, the risks involved, the most appropriate alternative or the broader impact that decision may have on the business.

Technical expertise remains essential, but it is no longer the primary differentiator.

From Knowledge to Judgement

Consider a company evaluating the acquisition of another business.

Artificial intelligence can explain how the transaction should be structured from a legal perspective, summarise its tax implications or even provide an initial assessment of potential risks. All of this is undoubtedly useful and will almost certainly become part of the standard toolkit of every professional advisory firm.

What AI cannot easily determine is whether the acquisition represents the right strategic move, how integration may affect the organisation, whether the proposed purchase price truly reflects the company’s value or whether alternative strategies could achieve the same objectives more effectively.

The same principle applies to corporate reorganisations, international expansion or succession planning. Legal analysis is only one part of the decision-making process. The rest requires a thorough understanding of the business, its objectives, its financial position, its operating model and the environment in which it competes.

Peter Drucker famously observed that “There is nothing so useless as doing efficiently that which should not be done at all.” Few statements better capture the current transformation of the advisory profession. Artificial intelligence enables many tasks to be completed with extraordinary efficiency. The real challenge lies in ensuring that those tasks support the right business decision in the first place.

The Future of Advisory

Perhaps the debate should never have focused on whether artificial intelligence will replace lawyers, advisers or consultants. The more relevant question is which professionals will create the greatest value once access to knowledge is no longer a competitive advantage.

In our view, the future of advisory services lies in strengthening precisely those capabilities that technology cannot replicate independently: professional judgement, strategic thinking, business insight and the ability to understand each client’s specific circumstances. Not because artificial intelligence lacks value—quite the opposite—but because business decisions continue to depend on factors that extend far beyond technically correct answers.

At ILIA ETL GLOBAL, we see artificial intelligence as a tool that enables us to work better, not think less. It allows us to devote less time to repetitive tasks and more time to what we believe will always distinguish trusted advisers: listening carefully, asking the right questions, connecting different disciplines and helping clients make better-informed decisions.

Ultimately, this is the greatest double-edged effect that artificial intelligence brings to the advisory profession. It enhances the value of professionals who use technology to strengthen their judgement, while exposing those whose contribution never extended beyond providing information.

Article prepared by our colleague Mario García.

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