AI consulting market seen topping $19 billion by 2030

By AI, Created 6:05 AM UTC, May 26, 2026, /AGP/ – The Business Research Company says the global AI consulting market is expanding quickly, rising from $7.39 billion in 2025 to a projected $8.96 billion in 2026. The report points to digital transformation, generative AI, governance and compliance demand as the main forces shaping the sector through 2030.

Why it matters: - AI consulting is becoming a key support service for companies trying to adopt AI without adding risk, confusion or wasted spending. - The market’s expected jump to $19.47 billion by 2030 signals sustained demand for strategy, implementation and governance help. - The growth also reflects a shift from basic AI experimentation to enterprise-wide deployment.

What happened: - The Business Research Company released its Artificial Intelligence (AI) Consulting Global Market Report 2026 - Market Size, Trends, And Global Forecast 2026-2035. - The report estimates the global AI consulting market will rise from $7.39 billion in 2025 to $8.96 billion in 2026. - The report projects the market will reach $19.47 billion by 2030. - The company says the sector is expanding as organizations seek expert guidance on AI adoption. - The report was published May 25, 2026. - The company offers a free sample of the report. - The company also offers the full market report.

The details: - The report says the market grew quickly in recent years on the back of digital transformation, wider machine learning adoption, more available data, stronger cloud infrastructure and higher demand for automation. - The report forecasts a 21.2% CAGR from 2025 to 2026. - The report forecasts a 21.4% annual growth rate through 2030. - The report says future growth will be driven by responsible AI, governance frameworks, deeper integration of AI into enterprise workflows, generative AI consulting, decision intelligence systems and AI transformation spending. - Emerging services highlighted in the report include AI strategy consulting, AI governance and ethical frameworks, AI-driven business process optimization, AI cloud migration advisory and AI risk and compliance consulting. - The report defines AI consulting as advisory services that help organizations plan, design and implement AI systems to improve operations and decision-making. - AI consulting work includes assessing data infrastructure, identifying AI use cases, building integration plans, deploying systems, optimizing performance and supporting responsible use. - In 2025, North America held the largest share of the global market. - The Asia-Pacific region is forecast to be the fastest-growing market during the forecast period. - The report covers Asia-Pacific, South East Asia, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, North America, South America, the Middle East and Africa. - The report says its 2026 edition includes market attractiveness scoring, TAM analysis, company scoring matrix graphics and tables, Excel-based forecasting dashboards, market hotspots infographics, key technologies and future trend analysis, and updated graphics and tables.

Between the lines: - The market is moving beyond implementation help toward advice on governance, compliance and risk, which usually becomes more important as AI use scales. - North America’s lead suggests the strongest current enterprise demand is in mature digital markets. - Asia-Pacific’s growth outlook points to where consulting vendors may find the fastest expansion as industrialization and digital infrastructure investment continue. - The UK government example in the report underscores a broader labor and skills gap around digital and data capabilities. - The Central Digital & Data Office reported 19% growth in its digital and data workforce between April 2022 and April 2023.

What’s next: - The report expects demand to keep rising as companies increase spending on AI strategy, governance and workflow integration. - Consulting firms are likely to compete more on specialized offerings tied to generative AI, compliance and business process redesign. - The fastest growth opportunity appears to be in Asia-Pacific, while North America remains the largest market base.

The bottom line: - AI consulting is shifting from a niche advisory service into a mainstream enterprise function, with growth tied to both AI adoption and the need to manage AI responsibly.