Webinar Recap: November 20, 2026
If you’ve spent any time in professional services, you know that digital transformation was the thing for many years. But agentic AI isn’t digital transformation 2.0.
We recently hosted a webinar with Lacey Van Sickle, COO of Penrod, alongside our Chief Services Officer Melody Benteler and Chief Customer Officer Marissa Bowman. The conversation got right into what to do when you’re trying to transform how a professional services firm operates.
Here are the highlights.
This Isn’t Just About New Tools
Melody opened with this challenge: traditional change management doesn’t work anymore. Why? Because when you’re implementing agentic AI, you’re not just bringing on new tools, you’re reshaping how the entire business operates.
Change management assumes you can plan, train, and execute. AI transformation requires a different approach—what we at Moonnox call “change activation.” It touches roles, workflows, decision-making, motivation, confidence. Everything that sits at the heart of how teams show up and deliver value.
Picking Your First Use Case (Without Boiling the Ocean)
Lacey shared how Penrod approached their first AI use case, and it wasn’t by trying to do everything at once. They started with data integrity.
Penrod’s criteria were practical: pick a process where you’re confident in your data, you know where information lives, and you can slide it into your team’s current workflow without requiring a massive overhaul. Small changes that show real value builds trust and momentum.
Penrod's first agent—they called it “Go Fetch”—tackled their institutional knowledge problem. Instead of tenured leaders constantly fielding the same questions about past integrations, deployment plans, and reference cases, the team could get answers instantly. The result? Faster sales response times, better QBR prep, and leadership freed up to focus on creative problem-solving instead of playing search engine for the team.
The Question Everyone’s Asking: What Does This Mean for Pricing?
When AI changes how work gets done, it inevitably raises questions about project economics. An audience member asked the question that’s on every professional services leader’s mind: what happens to margins, utilization rates, and pricing models?
Lacey’s answer? They’re still figuring it out. But her team is thinking about a shift from pure time-and-materials to more outcome-based engagements. The goal isn’t reducing billable time, it’s increasing the value of that time. Customers should be paying for creative consulting and strategic problem-solving, not internal tactical work.
That’s the real mindset shift. AI doesn’t replace consultants. It lets them spend more time on the uniquely human work that clients actually value.
“But What About Competitors?”
One attendee asked what many firms wonder privately: if your AI platform is also used by competitors, doesn’t that eliminate your advantage?
Lacey’s perspective: Choosing a platform built for professional services meant the Moonnox team already understood her world. She didn’t have to explain what consulting firms do. And Penrod’s culture embraces sharing best practices across the ecosystem: when everyone does better, the whole market gets better.
Ultimately, your competitive advantage isn’t the platform. It’s your methodology, your institutional knowledge, your unique way of serving clients. Moonnox amplifies what makes you different.
Change Activation Principles for Agentic AI
Throughout the conversation, several principles emerged for firms navigating AI transformation:
Start narrow and deep. Don’t try to deploy 87 agents by Q2. Pick one use case, master it, and build from there. Firms that go deep on a single use case see double the ROI of firms that spread thin.
Think platform, not point solutions. Disconnected AI tools create new silos. You need an orchestration layer that connects your existing systems and preserves institutional knowledge.
Embrace progress over perfection. You can’t spec this all upfront. Your roadmap will change. Treat agents like new employees: give them clear job descriptions, training, good management, and time to learn your business.
Designate an AI leader. Agentic AI implementation can’t be done by committee or as a side project. Someone needs to own the cross-functional view and the change activation work.
Make context your competitive advantage. AI capabilities are commoditizing rapidly. What’s not commoditized is your unique methodology and institutional knowledge. The firms that win will be those who teach AI their unique ways of working.
Watch the Full Conversation
This recap only scratches the surface. The full webinar includes deeper discussion on building your AI transformation leadership, creating feedback loops for agent improvement, and practical advice for getting team buy-in.
