A Conversation with Corporate Anthropologist Andi Simon.  Takeaways by Antonio Rothenbach.

If you’re a consultant, coach, or operator who relies on referrals, content, or reputation to get business, something important has changed.

People aren’t just “searching” anymore.
They’re asking AI.

Instead of scrolling Google results, prospects are increasingly asking tools like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity questions like:

• Who are the best consultants for this problem?

• Who should I trust?

• What approach actually works?

And in many cases, AI is summarizing, recommending, and filtering experts before a human ever clicks a website.

That shift was the focus of my recent conversation with Andi Simon, corporate anthropologist, CEO of Simon Associates Management Consultants, author, and host of On the Brink with Andi Simon.

Why This Matters for Consultants and Advisors

Andi has spent more than two decades helping organizations navigate major change across industries like banking, healthcare, and leadership development. Her lens is especially valuable right now because AI adoption isn’t just a technology issue.

It’s a human behavior problem.

During our conversation, a few themes kept surfacing:

• Humans fear the unknown

• The brain resists change and creates avoidance

• Tools don’t fail — adoption does

• Trust and credibility are shaped by habits, language, and rituals

Those same dynamics apply to AI.

Organizations struggle not because AI tools don’t work, but because leaders and teams don’t know how to adopt them safely, intentionally, and credibly.

AI Is Becoming the Front Door to Expertise

One of the most practical takeaways from our conversation was this:

AI is increasingly acting as the first impression of you as an expert.

Andi shared how she personally uses AI to:

• Test what AI “knows” about her professionally

• Shape content so AI can accurately summarize and recommend her work

• Ensure her expertise shows up in context when people ask questions

That led to a simple but powerful exercise:

Ask ChatGPT or Gemini:
“What do you know about (your name) and their work?”

The answer you get is often eye-opening.

If it’s vague, incomplete, or wrong, that’s not a technical problem.
It’s a visibility and positioning problem.

From SEO to AI Search: A Subtle but Critical Shift

Traditional SEO focused on rankings, keywords, and clicks.

AI search focuses on:

• Clear problem statements

• Frequently asked questions

• Consistent authority signals

• Content that answers real questions in plain language

AI doesn’t just index content.
It interprets it.

That means consultants who understand:

• problem framing

• systems thinking

• change leadership

are actually well positioned to succeed in this new environment.

Why Leadership and Change Still Matter More Than Tools

This is where Andi’s background as an anthropologist really shines.

AI adoption fails for the same reason many transformation efforts fail:

• Leaders copy mechanics without building foundations

• Organizations deploy tools before aligning beliefs and behaviors

• Psychological safety is ignored

This is something operational excellence professionals have seen for years.

AI is not separate from that story.
It’s the next chapter.

What This Means for Our Work Going Forward

This conversation reinforced two things I’m actively building:

1. AI Business Audits (Ibero AI)
   Helping organizations and consultants identify the right problems before jumping into AI tools.

2. Leadership & Change for AI Success (Belt Course)
   Supporting leaders who need to create stability, trust, and adoption... not just pilots and dashboards.

AI rewards clarity, credibility, and context.
Those aren’t technical skills. They’re leadership skills.

Listen to the Full Conversation

The full episode with Andi Simon is now live, access with these links:

🎧 Spotify

🎧 Apple Podcasts

📺 YouTube

If you’re a consultant, coach, or leader trying to stay relevant and trusted as AI reshapes how people find experts, this conversation will hit home.