The way people seek knowledge is evolving fast. With AI “answer engines” on the rise, readers expect trusted guidance—not endless scrolling. That’s why we built Ask McKinsey: a gen AI chatbot that makes exploring our insights faster, easier, and more intuitive.
Championed by partners Raju Narisetti and Ramiro Prudencio, the project reflects a shared conviction: Innovation is essential to meeting the evolving needs of McKinsey audiences.
Now live across all insights on McKinsey.com, Ask McKinsey lets users type a question and receive a direct, cited answer drawn from the firm’s published research and original sources, instantly connecting curiosity with credibility.
From beta to broad rollout
When Ask McKinsey debuted in beta on 2,000 digital and technology articles, the response was immediate: readers valued conversing with content rather than searching through it. One client saw even more promise in the product and wrote, “Really awesome—you are … demoing you are a trusted partner for AI.”
As the first publicly available tool of its kind in professional services—and one of only a few across major research organizations—Ask McKinsey offers a glimpse into how knowledge discovery is being rewired in the age of gen AI.
Getting to beta in just five months was no small feat. Built on the foundation of Lilli, McKinsey’s internal gen AI platform, the team added new layers of moderation, safety, and testing to ensure the tool was ready for an external audience. “This meant building new mechanisms to interpret and moderate questions, and scanning answers for risk,” says Principal Product Manager Hana Abbas, “and refining performance with lots of testing.”
Equally important was ensuring Ask McKinsey spoke in McKinsey’s editorial voice. About 50 publishing and technology team members collaborated to build evaluation data sets, test tone, and fine-tune responses. As Director of External Engagement Marianne Blum says, “We ensured that the bot doesn’t just provide accurate information—it does so in a way that is consistent with the clarity, authority, and accessibility readers expect from McKinsey insights.”
For Mike Borruso, Director of Audience Development and Innovation, the impact goes beyond functionality: “Our insights are powerful on their own, but Ask McKinsey brings them to life in real time. It meets our audience where they are—ready to answer their questions in natural language.”
Rewiring the way McKinsey works with Lilli, our generative AI platform
Where innovation meets insights
Ask McKinsey isn’t just a new feature—it’s an example of how we’re reimagining the way knowledge is delivered. As search behavior shifts toward conversational AI, we’re offering a tool that’s both cutting-edge and grounded in our trusted research. “It reflects our goal to deliver meaningful differentiation—and not just better sameness—to our audiences,” says Raju.
Early results show its impact, with one user describing it as a “secret weapon” for research and discovery. And this is only the beginning, with the vision extending far beyond this first release. On the roadmap are features like personalized suggestions, interactive exhibits and charts, and deeper integration across McKinsey.com. Each step builds on the same principle that drove the launch: listening to how people want to engage with information and designing experiences that match.
Ask McKinsey marks another step in how we’re rewiring the firm with technology. It also serves as a reminder that innovation doesn’t always mean doing something big and abstract; sometimes it’s about making access to ideas just a little bit easier and faster.
Try it yourself—and let us know how we can make Ask McKinsey even better.