Three strategies to identify untapped opportunities
Executive summary
Services firms are investing heavily in technology but still struggling to differentiate in a crowded market of lookalike offerings. Those poised to lead are equipping their operations to be AI-ready — leveraging internal data and integrated tools to spot growth opportunities and infusing AI directly into client services to stand out and provide new value.
Your biggest competitor isn’t the firm down the street — it’s the status quo. Professional services firms are caught chasing the same clients with nearly identical offerings in saturated markets.
Most firms see investments in AI and automation as pivotal to discovering new prospects and differentiating from competitors, yet they struggle with implementation. Our Digital Transformation Survey shows services organizations are spending more on tech, but poor system integration, unclear objectives and inadequate data management holding them back. That leads to firms working with dated delivery models and disconnected systems that prevent tech-enabled growth.
Leading firms, on the other hand, use technology to add new value to their client relationships.
“AI is going to take the place of mundane tasks and enable service providers to be that trusted advisor, rather than a tactical provider,” said Frederick Kohm, Grant Thornton Head of the Services Industry. “Firms that continue to be just a service provider and don’t move toward that trusted advisor role are going to miss out on opportunities for growth.”
But that shift requires more than purchasing AI tools.
“Teams struggle not only with picking from the array of AI tools available to them and how to apply them, but also who owns those decisions and how the technology will be governed,” said Neima Golnabi, Grant Thornton Business Consulting and Performance Management Managing Director. “The real challenge is starting at the beginning: building the foundations organizations need to have in place so AI can deliver tangible ROI, not just internal efficiencies.”
This challenge presents an opportunity for smaller firms, Kohm said. “They’re more agile. Without layers of executives to run tech enablement decisions by, these firms can pilot new tools quickly and bring them to market before larger competitors.”
Here’s how firms of all sizes can build an AI-ready strategy to support their go-to-market initiatives, compete differently and ultimately drive reliable growth.
Build an AI-ready strategy
“Many teams start by shopping for AI tools, but what should come first is building the organizational foundations to use the tools effectively,” Kohm said.
Three of the most common barriers to tech enablement that services firms face include:
- Siloed data and systems. Information lives in separate CRMs, ERPs, spreadsheets and partner platforms, so metrics conflict and AI can’t learn.
- Inconsistent processes: Every team handles proposals, onboarding, billing and delivery its own way, giving clients an uneven experience and leaving AI with no standard workflow to improve.
- Cultural resistance: When people see technology as a job threat, they rely on manual workarounds and stall automation.
Before AI and automation tools can support growth activities, firms must align their operations and business processes in five critical areas:
- Service delivery lifecycle processes. Standardize how services are scoped, delivered and measured across the value chain to ensure consistency in delivery quality, operational efficiency and data capture.
- Data infrastructure and governance. Maintain clean, well-tagged data with clear ownership and permission structures so AI can learn effectively
- Service taxonomy & delivery models. Define and codify services into modular, repeatable offerings that AI tools can price and match to need.
- Knowledge & IP management. Make past engagements, case studies and thought leadership searchable so AI can leverage insights to inform go-to-market tactics.
- Cross-functional governance. Form cross-departmental steering groups that oversee AI implementation to ensure alignment with business strategy, prioritization, risk and compliance.
To support seamless system integration, firms assessing AI tools should consider how those tools can be attached to their existing systems and processes.
“When they’re looking at investing in their Human Capital Management or Enterprise Resource Planning systems, for example, clients should consider the infused AI capabilities," said Brian Eccher, Grant Thornton Technology Modernization Principal. “Tools that can naturally be infused into their existing technology systems will be more seamless to adopt than the entire firm’s systems — and people — learning entirely new tools.”
Kohm suggests testing AI models in back-office functions first: “Automate things like time tracking and proposal generation before deploying the tech in client-facing work.”
Turn data into forward-looking intelligence
To spot growth, services firms need their data to do more than drive efficiency — they need it to guide decisions.
That shift happens when teams treat everyday data — sales pipelines, client notes, project histories — as signals of where demand is heading.
"We’re seeing a lot more activity on the predictive side," Eccher said. “Teams can view last month’s performance and project what next month will look like.”
The same systems that improve delivery accuracy also reveal market opportunities. Time-tracking data, for example, shows where hours spike or fade, hinting at which solutions or projects are suddenly in demand and whether activity in specific sectors is accelerating or declining.
“Sales officers can integrate their sales funnel with their existing work to not only predict future revenue, but find white space opportunities — who are we serving? What does our pipeline look like?” Eccher said.
Pricing analysis works the same way: historical rates and payment patterns can reveal both margin gaps and growing sectors. And when CRM, ERP and project systems share data, the numbers that speed up time cards also point to the next client to call.
“When data is connected, that CRM can autofill time cards based on past work, while also telling you who to contact next,” said Anthony Bonaguro, CFO Advisory Services Partner. “The right platform has every system talking, so you know your next move.”
Use tech to create differentiated offerings
The key to avoid commoditization is delivering unique value that competitors can’t easily replicate.
Most firms use AI for internal efficiency — automating proposals, streamlining time tracking or generating reports. While helpful, these improvements are invisible to clients and easily copied by competitors. Leveraging AI for true growth means infusing tools directly into what they deliver to clients, creating services that competitors struggle to match.
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Consider the shift from bespoke, project-based work to what Golnabi calls “productized services.”
“Historically, every project was bespoke. Now, services firms are creating modular, tech-enabled offerings — such as regulatory toolkits, AI-readiness assessments or ongoing compliance monitoring — that can be reused, templatized and delivered at scale,” Golnabi said. “These offerings blend advisory expertise with technology, turning intellectual capital into repeatable, monetizable products.”
What makes these offerings hard to replicate isn’t the technology itself, but how firms integrate their specific expertise, client relationships and industry knowledge into the AI-enhanced service. Competitors can buy similar tools, but they can’t easily replicate the domain expertise and client insights embedded in the service design.
These types of offerings increase margins, improve consistency of delivery, and deepen client relationships through subscription-like engagement models — while creating competitive advantages that are difficult for others to compete on.
Making tech investments count
Smaller firms don’t need a giant budget to make AI pay off. “Break it into bite-size projects,” Eccher said. “Generative AI tools like Copilot or ChatGPT are easy wins.”
Firms that are ready to leverage AI to scale growth will:
- Set clear guardrails so teams can test ideas without adding risk.
- Pick platforms with AI already built in and room to grow.
- Connect systems so operational data feeds into market intelligence.
- Track both early adoption (log-ins and usage) and hard results (revenue and margin).
Clients are already raising the bar for speed, accuracy and proactive advice. Firms that integrate operational improvements with strategic growth initiatives will capture opportunities others miss.
Contacts:
Head of Services Industry
Partner, Risk Advisory Services
Grant Thornton Advisors LLC
Frederick Kohm, Jr. is the Head of the Services industry and a Risk Advisory Principal based in the Philadelphia office.
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Industries
- Insurance
- Energy
- Services
Service Experience
- Advisory Services
Partner, CFO Advisory Services
Grant Thornton Advisors LLC
Anthony has 20 years of experience working in a variety of industries, including services, distribution, manufacturing and technology.
Chicago, Illinois
Industries
- Manufacturing, Transportation & Distribution
- Technology, Media & Telecommunications
Service Experience
- Audit & Assurance Services
Partner, Technology Modernization Services
Grant Thornton Advisors LLC
Brian Eccher is a partner with Grant Thornton’s Business Applications team in Pittsburgh and a leader of Grant Thornton’s Oracle Enterprise Performance Management (EPM) practice.
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Industries
- Construction & Real Estate
- Healthcare
- Manufacturing, Transportation & Distribution
- Transportation & Distribution
- Energy
- Retail & Consumer Brands
Service Experience
- Advisory Services
Managing Director, Business Consulting
Cost and Performance Management
Grant Thornton Advisors LLC
Neima has served numerous clients in their transformation efforts, gaining valuable experience in Operating Model Design and Profitability improvement across various industries.
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