Both, not either: why consulting and training must reorganise their knowledge now

What do you say when a client tells you in the first meeting: "I already asked ChatGPT about this"?

AI has arrived in everyday work. Around a third of Swiss SMEs now use it actively (AXA/Sotomo, 2025). For consultants and training providers this means general knowledge is free and instantly available. The question is what your offering is after that.

🐛 The problem

A large part of every engagement and every training course is passing on knowledge. That is exactly what general AI appears to do. It doesn't know your method, your clients' context or your experience from hundreds of cases. It still answers fluently and convincingly.

Wait, and you lose the simple questions to general AI first, then the medium ones. After the seminar, participants' questions no longer reach you; they end up in a chat window. Your expertise is not worth less because of this. But it becomes invisible as long as it is only available in a meeting.

🦋 The pragmatic solution

The answer is not AI or people, but both, clearly divided. The value only emerges from the combination:

🦋 AI delivers your knowledge. A Wingmate answers around the clock, but only from your curated knowledge, not from the internet. It says "I don't know" when it doesn't.

🦋 People deliver judgement. New, ambiguous or sensitive cases need experience, creative intelligence and someone who takes responsibility. These cases come to you with the full conversation.

🦋 Together they do what neither can alone. Your clients get your method at any time, and you in person when it matters. A general AI doesn't have your knowledge, and a person alone isn't available around the clock.

Organise, bill, run

Making this work takes three decisions, better made today than tomorrow:

🦋 Organise: knowledge management becomes part of the offering. Every source gets an owner and a review date. Why this matters more than volume is explained in The superpower is curation.

🦋 Bill: instead of hours, Wingbeats count, per interaction with the Wingmate or with you. Optionally you cover usage for your clients entirely (sponsored), for example as part of a seminar. Beyond the hourly rate shows how to get started step by step.

🦋 Run: payment runs through the platform, with no invoice per request. The HeatMap analyses anonymised conversations and shows where knowledge is missing.

What this could look like

A training provider runs a two-day leadership seminar. Participants get three months of access to the trainer's Wingmate, sponsored and included in the seminar fee. Back at work, they ask how the feedback model from day two helps in a difficult appraisal. The Wingmate answers from the seminar materials. A question about a deadlocked team situation goes to the trainer, who offers a coaching session. After three months, the HeatMap shows which topics triggered the most questions. That becomes the follow-up module.

Aren't we making ourselves redundant?

Quite the opposite. Your standardisable knowledge is offered by AI anyway. The only open question is whether it comes from your verified source or from any source at all. The real encounters remain: workshops, conversations, working together. They become more valuable because the routine falls away. People stay at the centre: AI gives you wings, it doesn't replace you.

Benefits at a glance

🦋 Your method stays the source, not the internet.

🦋 Clients and participants stay with you between appointments.

🦋 Human judgement becomes visible and billable as a service of its own.

🦋 New offerings grow from real questions rather than guesswork.

🦋 Personal encounters focus on what only people can do.

Conclusion

AI answers what can be known. People decide what to make of it. Offer both and you stay relevant.

👉 Which part of your offering would still be unique tomorrow if your clients put every routine question to an AI? See how violet dragonfly combines both on the For Companions page.

(AI generated) · Member of swissAI, the Swiss user association for artificial intelligence