‘Stop Using AI Everywhere’

A couple of months ago, Zerodha CTO Kailash Nadh told AIM that the world needs to stop applying AI everywhere. He highlighted the problematic trend of implementing AI technologies, sometimes without thinking through the problem. 

“AI should not really be looked at as a solution chasing a problem. You can’t predict all possible scenarios, so one has to be very careful [before adopting it],” he said. 

Similarly, global professional services giant EY believes it’s not about using AI everywhere but applying it where it provides maximum value.

In September 2023, the company launched the artificial intelligence (AI) platform ‘EY.ai’, investing $1.4 billion to solidify its position as an AI-powered business. EY.ai unifies human capabilities with AI. 

Following this, on July 1, EY launched ‘All in’ the EY global strategy, aiming to increase the company’s revenue through purposeful growth and targeted investments in areas like transformation, managed services and sustainability while maintaining a strong focus on audit quality. 

A Blanket Offering of AI?

In an exclusive interview with AIM, Paul Clark, global vice chair of managed services at EY, shed light on the intriguing challenge companies face as they experiment with proofs of concept, trying to better understand emerging technologies like AI.

“The advantage EY has is that, while many companies have traditionally focused on the people-first model, EY is embracing an AI-first or tech-first approach. This gives us the ability to leapfrog compared to some of the existing players in the market,” Milan Sheth, partner & COO of global managed services at EY, said.

Clarke added, “But for areas like finance, compliance, or risk management, companies might ask: Do we need to build our own LLM, or should we leverage existing solutions?”

He emphasised that EY offers a unique advantage in the field of AI, particularly as organisations move towards agentic AI. Instead of investing in building solutions from the ground up, most companies can benefit from ready-made, tailored offerings provided by EY.

Another critical area of focus is governance, which EY identifies as a key opportunity. The firm prioritises integrating robust controls into AI systems as clients adopt these solutions. For instance, during transitions from generative AI to agentic AI, EY ensures proper system oversight and training for those responsible for managing the AI.

Sheth further explained that the firm focuses on applying AI strategically, identifying where technologies like agentic AI, LLMs, or simple automation can deliver the most value. Instead of deploying AI universally, EY evaluates where it will have the maximum impact and, when necessary, advises clients to delay implementation or narrow their focus to specific areas.

Clark added that for most organisations, using packaged solutions customised to their needs is more efficient than starting from scratch. “We bring domain expertise, apply it to client-specific situations with trust and understanding, and collaborate effectively with alliance partners like Microsoft, ServiceNow, and IBM,” Clark said.

As per EY’s global revenue report of 2024, “To date, 70% of all EY employees have been trained in the responsible use of AI. Over 75% have used EYQ (EY’s AI assistant), generating 68m prompts since September 2023. EYQ has also won multiple industry awards for AI and innovation excellence.”

EYQ is one of the world’s largest private and secure LLMs, rolled out across the EY global workforce last year. 

Meanwhile, Other Big 4 Firms

In its FY2024 revenue report, EY’s competitor Deloitte mentioned, “For our long-term plan, we have aligned over $3 billion of investments in GenAI globally through FY2030 on top of our $1 billion multi-year investment in AI-enabled delivery platforms and capabilities.”

Deloitte Audit & Assurance (A&A) uses innovative platforms, Deloitte Omnia and Deloitte Levvia, and develops additional Gen AI-enabled capabilities and solutions. This led to “Audit & Assurance revenue grow 4.1% in local currency.”

The company also launched Deloitte Ascend^TM, a digital delivery platform, to provide their talent and clients with best-in-class digital resources and real-time data.

PwC is also making considerable investments in AI. As per its global annual review report 2024, “PwC network firms are collectively investing nearly $1.5 billion to expand and scale our AI capabilities across our network, launch partnerships and roll out.”

The report also highlights that the PwC network has made itself ‘Client Zero’ for GenAI, identifying over 3,000 internal GenAI use cases and fully embedding GenAI into their work to be best-placed to advise clients on their AI needs.

Meanwhile, PwC is rolling out AI platforms across its network to enhance its consulting, tax, legal, audit and assurance services. Over 100,000 professionals across PwC firms globally have been equipped to leverage Microsoft’s AI assistant, and Copilot for Microsoft 365, enabling them to deliver greater value to clients.

KPMG professionals, on the other hand, leverage AI tools to support the development, deployment, and management of AI systems throughout the project lifecycle. They assist clients at every stage, bridging the gap from concept to execution and ensuring a seamless implementation of AI tools.