BCG Says AI Generated 25% of Its Revenue—McKinsey and Bain Won’t Even Hint at Their Numbers
BCG reports AI now generates 25 percent of revenue, while McKinsey and Bain scramble to match that productivity surge.
- Boston Consulting Group reported $14.4 billion in revenue for 2025.
- AI work contributed 25% of that total—roughly $3.6 billion.
- The firm is the first major consultancy to disclose specific AI revenue percentages.
Boston Consulting Group reported $14.4 billion in revenue for 2025, marking the firm’s 22nd consecutive year of growth. The headline number isn’t what makes this notable. It’s that BCG disclosed that AI-related work generated 25% of that total—around $3.6 billion in a single year.
According to Bloomberg, the disclosure makes BCG the first major consulting firm to put a number on how much of its business comes from artificial intelligence. Competing firms like McKinsey and Bain have talked up their AI practices for years, but neither has disclosed what percentage of revenue actually comes from those engagements. The silence makes it impossible to know whether 25% is typical or exceptional.
BCG’s AI revenue comes from advising clients on everything from generative AI strategy to implementation and workforce transformation. The firm has positioned itself as a go-to partner for companies trying to figure out what to do with large language models beyond firing off emails faster.
Why Other Consultancies Stay Silent
The consulting industry has spent the past three years promising AI-driven transformation to clients while keeping the economics of those promises close to the vest. McKinsey publishes reports on AI adoption and workforce trends, but doesn’t break out AI-specific revenue. Bain has an AI division and talks about “AI-powered projects” without offering specifics on what percentage of revenue those projects represent.
The opacity makes sense from a competitive standpoint. Disclosing that only 5% of revenue comes from AI work would signal weakness. Revealing 35% would invite uncomfortable questions about business model dependence on a single technology. BCG’s decision to disclose the 25% figure suggests confidence that the number is both impressive and sustainable.
The $3.6 billion figure also provides a benchmark for the broader consulting industry. If BCG can generate that much from AI work, competitors are likely pursuing similar volumes—or risking irrelevance. The pressure to disclose will grow as AI services become a larger percentage of overall revenue across the sector.
The firm did not disclose whether the 25% figure includes staff augmentation work, pure strategy engagements, or implementation projects. That distinction matters. Implementation work is stickier and generates recurring revenue. Strategy work is easier to scale up but also easier to pause when budgets tighten.
BCG refiled its registration to go public this week, which means transparency requirements are about to get more stringent anyway. The AI revenue disclosure may be a preview of the financial detail investors can expect in coming quarters.
