Consulting firm Accenture has announced that it will invest $3 billion in artificial intelligence (AI) technology over the next three years.

The firm will expand its Data & AI practice to work with companies across 19 industries, launch its AI Navigator for Enterprise platform to guide AI strategy, and double its AI-focused staff to 80,000 people through hiring, acquisitions and training.

“There is unprecedented interest in all areas of AI, and the substantial investment we are making in our Data & AI practice will help our clients move from interest to action to value, and in a responsible way with clear business cases,” Chair and CEO Julie Sweet said in a statement. “Companies that build a strong foundation of AI by adopting and scaling it now, where the technology is mature and delivers clear value, will be better positioned to reinvent, compete and achieve new levels of performance.”

Other consulting firms are investing in AI, The New York Times reported. PwC will invest $1 billion over the next three years and Ernst & Young is investing $2.5 billion over three years. Bain and Company has partnered with OpenAI, the maker of ChatGPT, and Deloitte is partnering with chip maker Nvidia.

Investments on generative AI alone are expected to be $42.6 billion by year end, according to PitchBook, as cited by The Times.

“Over the next decade, AI will be a mega-trend, transforming industries, companies, and the way we live and work, as generative AI transforms 40 percent of all working hours,” Accenture Technology Group Chief Executive Paul Daugherty said in the company’s statement.

Despite all the activity and enthusiasm, one observer noted that the human element still matters.

“When I think about how I spend my day, the vast majority of it is helping senior executives think strategically about what they want to accomplish and how to make it happen,” Alex Singla, who leads McKinsey’s AI consulting team, told Observer last week. “It involves a lot of bringing people along and thinking about customers. It’s all these things around problem-solving, creativity and change management that you won’t get out of technology alone.”