The 3 GenAI Tools Every Business Consultant Needs in 2025

As someone who regularly trains business consultants on leveraging generative AI for business applications, I see a lot them getting overwhelmed by the flood of potential AI tools. I therefore decided to create a list of the three most important AI tools that every business consultant should master:

1. DeepResearch: Your AI Research Partner

What it does: DeepResearch handles the heavy lifting of initial research, scanning vast amounts of information to provide comprehensive overviews on any topic.

Why consultants need it: Instead of spending hours combing through industry reports, academic papers, and news articles, you can get a solid research foundation in minutes. DeepResearch doesn't just aggregate information—it identifies key themes, trends, and gaps that you might miss when researching manually.

Real-world application: When a client asks you to assess market entry opportunities in Southeast Asia, DeepResearch can quickly compile regulatory landscapes, competitive analyses, and market sizing data, giving you a comprehensive starting point before you dive deeper into client-specific factors.

Available options: OpenAI, Gemini, Grok, and Perplexity AI all provide the option to enable DeepResearch when prompting

2. NotebookLM: The Insight Synthesizer

What it does: NotebookLM excels at connecting dots across multiple sources, helping you recombine insights from different documents, interviews, and research materials into coherent narratives.

Why consultants need it: Your value as a consultant often lies in synthesizing disparate information into actionable recommendations. NotebookLM can process your client interviews, industry reports, internal documents, and research findings simultaneously, identifying patterns and connections that might take you days to uncover manually.

Real-world application: After conducting stakeholder interviews for an organizational transformation project, upload the transcripts along with the company's strategic plans and industry benchmarks. NotebookLM will help you identify recurring themes, contradictions between stated goals and actual practices, and opportunities for alignment—the foundation of your recommendations.

Alternative options: NotebookLM should only be used when data are publicly available. To work with confidential data, you will need an enterprise solution from one of the providers (OpenAI, Google, Microsoft)

3. Data Analyst: Your Quantitative Analysis Accelerator

What it does: This specialized GPT variant can explore databases, analyze Excel sheets, and perform complex data manipulations with natural language commands.

Why consultants need it: Many consulting projects involve analyzing client data, but not every consultant is a data scientist. Data Analyst GPT bridges this gap, allowing you to perform sophisticated analyses, create visualizations, and test hypotheses without needing advanced technical skills.

Real-world application: When analyzing a client's sales performance across regions, you can upload their data and ask questions like "What are the top factors correlating with high-performing territories?" or "Show me seasonal trends in customer acquisition by product line." The tool handles the complex queries and presents results in business-friendly formats.

Available options: The Data Analyst in ChatGPT is the most straightforward option. The most recent models of Claude and Gemini also can easily enable coding to analyze data.

The Multiplier Effect

Here's what makes these tools particularly powerful for consultants: they work best in combination. Start with DeepResearch to build your knowledge foundation, use NotebookLM to synthesize insights from multiple sources (including your research and client materials), and leverage Data Analyst GPT to validate hypotheses with quantitative evidence.

This trio transforms the traditional consulting workflow from a linear, time-intensive process into a dynamic, iterative cycle of discovery and validation.

Remember: these tools amplify your expertise; they don't replace it. Your domain knowledge, client relationships, and strategic thinking remain irreplaceable. But with the right AI tools handling routine research and analysis tasks, you can focus more time on high-value activities like strategic recommendations and client relationship building.