McKinsey's Firmwide Knowledge Copilot "Lilli"

Overview

McKinsey launched Lilli, a generative-AI platform that provides streamlined, impartial search and synthesis of the firm's internal knowledge to help consultants build client engagement plans. The firm's intellectual property spans more than 40 curated knowledge sources today, and McKinsey said there will be more than 100,000 documents and interview transcripts of internal and third-party content in the future. A user asks a question and Lilli scans the firm's knowledge base, surfaces five to seven of the most relevant pieces of content, summarizes key points, and identifies subject-matter experts. McKinsey piloted Lilli with real users and was scaling it from an initial team of three to more than 70 experts, aiming to reach thousands of colleagues by the end of the year.

The solution

Lilli is a generative-AI platform with two modes: one for searching McKinsey's internal knowledge base and one for external sources. It draws on QuantumBlack's generative AI capabilities, including the QB Horizon suite and an ecosystem of partners, to scale in a cost-effective, secure manner. The platform was piloted with real users -- both consultants and internal clients -- before wider rollout.

Reported business value

Before Lilli, even senior colleagues typically spent two weeks researching and identifying the right experts to build an initial engagement plan; Lilli is aimed at shortening that process by scanning the firm's knowledge base for relevant content and experts. One Associate Partner reported Lilli saves him up to 20 percent of his time preparing for meetings and improves the quality of his contributions. McKinsey was piloting and scaling Lilli -- growing the team from three to over 70 experts -- with a goal of reaching thousands of colleagues by the end of the year.