Every AI startup claims they’re disrupting something expensive. Rocket’s pitch? McKinsey-style reports without the McKinsey price tag. Sounds great until you remember that consulting firms don’t charge six figures just for PowerPoint decks.
Rocket launched a platform promising consulting-style product strategies for businesses trying to figure out their next moves. The value proposition is simple: get strategic guidance that would normally cost you a small fortune, but faster and cheaper because AI does the heavy lifting. It’s positioned as a “vibe solutioning platform” for teams wanting organized app creation workflows.
Look, I get the appeal. McKinsey charges what they charge partly because of brand prestige, partly because of their network, and partly because they can. If an AI tool can generate 80% of the analytical framework for 10% of the cost, that’s compelling math. But here’s where my skepticism kicks in.
What Consulting Actually Sells
Strategy consulting isn’t just about producing reports. It’s about having someone with credibility tell your board what they already suspected but needed external validation to act on. It’s about political cover. It’s about the confidence that comes from a brand name that’s been around since 1926.
Rocket might generate solid analysis. It might even produce recommendations that are statistically sound. But can it navigate the internal politics of a Fortune 500 company? Can it read the room when presenting to skeptical executives? Can it take the blame when a strategy fails?
These aren’t technical problems. They’re human ones.
The Trust Problem Nobody Talks About
McKinsey’s own 2026 AI Trust Maturity Survey found progress in trust maturity, but also persistent gaps in strategy and governance. That’s corporate speak for “people still don’t fully trust AI to make big decisions.” And we’re talking about McKinsey clients here, the exact demographic Rocket is targeting.
If organizations are still figuring out how to trust AI in 2026, how ready are they to replace their consultants with an AI platform? The gap between “this tool is useful” and “I’m betting my career on this tool’s recommendations” is massive.
Where Rocket Might Actually Win
Here’s the thing though: Rocket doesn’t need to replace McKinsey to be valuable. The real opportunity is in the massive middle market that can’t afford traditional consulting at all.
Small to mid-size companies making decisions about product strategy, market entry, or operational changes often wing it or rely on whoever shouts loudest in the meeting. For them, even imperfect AI-generated strategic frameworks beat nothing. That’s a real use case.
The platform’s focus on helping businesses decide their next moves could work well for companies that need structure more than they need prestige. If Rocket can deliver consistent, well-reasoned analysis at accessible prices, there’s a market there.
The Real Test
Predictions for 2026 highlight significant AI advancements, and we’re seeing reports that around 75% of current roles will need reshaping as AI embeds across workflows. Strategy consulting could absolutely be one of those roles.
But disruption isn’t just about being cheaper or faster. It’s about being trusted enough that people actually change their behavior. Rocket needs to prove it can generate insights that lead to real decisions, not just reports that sit in someone’s downloads folder.
I want to see case studies. I want to see companies that used Rocket’s recommendations and succeeded. I want to see what happens when a Rocket-generated strategy fails and who takes responsibility.
Until then, Rocket is an interesting experiment in AI-powered consulting, but calling it a McKinsey replacement is premature. It might be a useful tool for companies that couldn’t afford consultants anyway. That’s not nothing, but it’s not disruption either.
The startup is betting that strategy consulting is ripe for automation. Maybe they’re right. But I’m not writing that article until I see the receipts.
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