(MENAFN- Live Mint)

Consulting giants led by Accenture have ramped up their intake from India's top B-schools during summer placements as they prepare to advise companies worldwide on an unprecedented business transformation powered by artificial intelligence (AI).

Management consulting accounted for 46% of all offers, up from 38% last year at the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Bangalore. That's a“record high" at the 51-year-old institute.

“We would also like to highlight the record number of offers made by Accenture Strategy this year," said Tapas Ranjan Pati, head of career development services at IIM-Bangalore, in a statement on 18 October. Accenture Strategy made 132 offers versus 96 last year. Its peers who also made offers include Boston Consulting Group (24), Bain & Co. (18), and McKinsey & Co. (13), among others.

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Accenture's hunt for management talent mirrors clients' growing requirement for strategy and scale with AI. That also marks a turnaround, as consulting firms had slowed their hiring plans about two years ago as wars and an uncertain global economy had pushed clients to tighten their purse strings.

Summer placements at IIMs start in September/October, and students intern with the firms for a couple of months during the summer. These placements are often indicative of a job market and offer students a chance to secure pre-placement offers (PPOs). This is a preferred route as the employer tests the candidate during the two-month internship, while the student getting a PPO can skip the final placements that happen more than two quarters later.

Accenture's talent hunt

IIM-Ahmedabad, which kicks off summer placements next week for its 2025-2027 batch, also expects a similar rush from consulting firms.

“Based on my discussions, in the coming days I expect consulting firms to increasingly meld AI with significant human intervention, thereby enhancing the quality of their offerings," said Viswanath Pingali, chairperson-placements at the 64-year-old management institute.“There is enough academic research, too, that shows human intervention combined with AI yields significantly better results when compared to AI interventions alone."

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During last year's summer placements (for the batch of 2024-2026) in the management consulting cohort, Boston Consulting Group (BCG) was the top recruiter with 22 offers, followed by McKinsey and Bain with 15 and 14 offers each, respectively. In the transformation & operations consulting sector, Accenture made the highest 39 offers.

“Accenture is doubling down on AI-led consulting talent because enterprises now want strategy and scale, not just software... Accenture is signalling confidence in the next wave of enterprise demand for applied AI and digital transformation," said Phil Fersht, founder and chief executive officer of US-based HFS Research, an outsourcing-research firm.“These internships are not just about filling entry-level positions; they are about building a new generation of consulting talent that can translate AI concepts into real business outcomes."

Accenture has become the“bridge between boardroom ambition and technology execution", Fersht said. Its consulting arm helps clients“define AI-first operating models, assess organizational readiness, and prioritize investments that align with measurable business value".

Earlier in October, Mint reported on the widening gulf between Accenture and its IT rivals over AI business. In the 12 months through August 2025, Accenture pulled in $4.78 billion in new business-a figure that surpasses the combined incremental revenue ($3.92 billion) generated by India's 15 largest IT services firms in 2024-25.

The 40-year-old IIM-Lucknow has also seen an uptick in the number of consulting offers during the summer placement process for the batch of 2027, said Prem Prakash Dewani, placement chairperson at IIM-Lucknow. Bain, BCG, Kearney and McKinsey were some of the recruiters. Accenture Strategy, again, was one of the largest recruiters at IIM-Lucknow, extending 47 offers.

“AI and analytics-driven transformation mandates are reshaping consulting engagements globally," Dewani said in an emailed response to Mint.“Firms are increasingly seeking talent with cross-functional understanding..."

Mint's queries emailed to Accenture on Wednesday remained unanswered. BCG didn't immediately respond to queries emailed on Thursday.

“At McKinsey & Company's India office, our hiring each year is aligned with our growth trajectory and the evolving needs of our clients. As we see an increase in both the number and complexity of client problems we are helping solve, we continue to strengthen our consulting pool accordingly," the company said in a statement.

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“At IIMs, we generally hire Junior Associates who join as generalist consultants and over time develop expertise across the various practices they work in," McKinsey said.“Technology and AI continue to be areas we are investing in, alongside strengthening our core practices."

Other IIMs where placements are on have also seen more offers from consulting giants. However, they caution that there is always a difference between summer internships and final placements, and students may get offers from other firms and companies may ultimately select a different candidate.

“Demand from consulting firms will always increase when there is a flux in the economy, and right now they are anticipating growth," said Debashis Chatterjee, director at IIM-Kozhikode, where summer placements are on.“They are testing out the bright spots in the market, but final hiring may not always reflect an increase in numbers."

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