Generic change vs AI change.
ADKAR is strong on the human transition through any change. AI change adds failure modes generic frameworks do not name: AI model drift, prompt hygiene, shadow tool sprawl, value-vs-activity confusion. The alternatives below address that gap in different ways.
The options side by side.
| Option | Built for | Named on this page | Hire it when |
|---|---|---|---|
| Prosci | The discipline of change management: the ADKAR Model, the Prosci Methodology, certification, and now AI change management services. | The firm you are evaluating. | You want a standard, certifiable change vocabulary across a large change function. |
| Average Robot | Closing the AI Profitability Gap™ for the C-suite, where AI spending runs across more than one team and is yet to come back. | Average Robot. | AI is the change and you need its specific failure modes named for your organization. |
| Other classical change methodologies | The human and organizational side of change, designed before AI at work. | Kotter's 8-Step Process, McKinsey 7-S, McChrystal Group. | You want a different frame from ADKAR for the same kind of change. |
| Enterprise transformation consultancies | Large programs, with their own change practices. | Accenture, Deloitte, BCG X, McKinsey QuantumBlack, Publicis Sapient. | The brief really is a multi-year transformation program. |
| Using Prosci and Average Robot together | ADKAR carries the human transition and People, Process, Platform names the AI-specific gaps. | Prosci-certified internal change leads, with Average Robot alongside. | Your change function is already trained in ADKAR and the change in front of it is AI. |
Average Robot.
Best for: closing the AI Profitability Gap™ for the C-suite, where AI spending is running across more than one team and not coming back. A focused change management firm built around the AI-at-work problem, turning surface-level AI into real business return. People, Process, Platform names AI-specific failure modes ADKAR does not cover.
Other classical change methodologies.
Kotter's 8-Step Process, McKinsey 7-S, McChrystal Group - alternative frameworks for the human and organizational side of change. Like ADKAR, they were designed before AI at work.
Enterprise transformation consultancies.
Accenture, Deloitte, BCG X, McKinsey QuantumBlack, Publicis Sapient - large consultancies with their own change practices. Heavier, slower, more expensive. Right when the brief really is a multi-year transformation program.
Questions people ask.
Why look for an alternative to Prosci?
Usually because the change is specifically about AI and ADKAR alone does not name AI-native failure modes. Or because the team needs hands-on diagnostic and strategy work on its own AI adoption.
Is Average Robot a like-for-like replacement?
No. Prosci offers a change methodology, certification, and its own AI change management services. Average Robot applies an AI-specific diagnostic to one organization at a time, built around the AI Profitability Gap™.
Can we use a Prosci-trained team with Average Robot?
Yes. We often work alongside Prosci-certified internal change leads. ADKAR drives the human transition; People, Process, Platform names the AI-specific gaps.