AI tips for professional services firms: law, accounting, insurance, consulting & beyond
Lead story · Intake, reimagined
The AI Interviewed 98 Patients Before the Doctor Walked In
The doctor still made the call. The AI made sure they walked in knowing the whole story.
Google tested its medical AI, called AMIE, with 98 real patients before urgent-care visits. Patients described their symptoms by text, AMIE asked the follow-up questions, and the doctor got the full conversation plus a summary before walking into the room.
The doctor's final diagnosis was on AMIE's list of possibilities 90% of the time. A physician watched every chat and could step in. Supervisors caught one made-up detail and added clinical information in five conversations. The study had no comparison group, so it doesn't show how AMIE would do on its own.
Try this at your firm: Every firm runs intake, whether it's a new legal matter, a tax client, an insurance claim or a consulting engagement. Let AI ask the follow-up questions and hand your team a one-page summary. Keep a person reviewing every one, the way Google's doctors did.
Source: Google Research, via The Neuron, Oct. 11, 2026
By the Numbers
- 49%of workers who use AI at work use tools their employer never approved. Deloitte
- 1 in 5companies has mature governance for its AI agents. Deloitte
- 18%of text in federal court complaints is now AI-written, up from 0.1%. Justin Curl, via The Neuron
- 40–60%of qualified sales pipeline ends in "no decision," not a loss to a rival. The JOLT Effect
- ⅔of the $92B raised by North American startups in Q3 went to AI. Crunchbase
Midweek Wisdom
Before You Buy Another AI Tool, Ask the One-Year Question
Every AI demo looks like a must-have. The better test: what actually happens if your firm ignores this problem for one more year, and who notices? If the honest answer is "not much," it's a nice-to-have.
Score it first:
- Is money already going to it, in staff hours or workarounds?
- Does it touch revenue, compliance or deadlines?
- Is a named person asking for the fix?
- Does it happen weekly, not yearly?
Two "no" answers? Wait, and spend the money elsewhere.
Source: The Founder Corner
The Security Desk
October's Patch Fixed More Than 1,400 Flaws
Microsoft's October update patched more than 1,400 security flaws, up from nearly 1,000 in September, and credited AI with finding many of them. Attackers use the same tools to find the same holes.
Protect your firm:
- Turn on automatic updates for Windows, Office and browsers.
- Restart computers weekly so updates actually install.
- Replace devices that no longer get security updates.
- Ask your IT provider how fast patches go out.
Source: Krebs on Security, via The Neuron
Tip of the Week
Put the Answer First
Most emails bury the ask in paragraph three. McKinsey teaches new consultants to lead with the answer, then up to three reasons, then the details. Asking AI to "improve" an email polishes the words but keeps your order.
Prompt to steal:
Why it works: busy readers decide in two lines whether to keep going.
Treats to Try · Tools worth a look
- Claude for Google Workspace: Claude in a sidebar inside Docs, Sheets and Slides. Beta, on paid plans.
- Claude Docs & Slides: now on every Claude plan, including Free.
- ChatGPT calculators: GPT-6 builds sliders and charts right in the reply. Check the math.
- Granola: AI meeting notes in 32 languages, with clear next steps.
- Vitra: translates documents into 75+ languages; you approve before it publishes.
- OpenScreen: turns screen recordings into polished how-to videos. Free.
Mentions are not paid endorsements. Test with non-sensitive data first.
Industry Briefs
Law: AI-written text in federal complaints hit 18%. Check every citation an AI drafts before it's filed.
Accounting: A Mercor benchmark found AI now beats junior CPAs on realistic tasks (vendor-run). Shift the saved time to review and advisory.
Insurance: The White House now requires AI companies to report and fix agents' unauthorized actions. Expect clients to ask how policies treat AI errors.
Published by Advanced Information Systems (AI Solutions Partners), Chester, VA, since 1995. Figures as reported by the sources named.