AI Won’t Replace Professional Services—It Will Unlock Them

By Andy Kurtzig, CEO of Pearl.com

Think about it: there are very few conversations in life we pay to have—except with professionals like doctors, lawyers, or financial advisors. Their expertise is invaluable, yet access to them is increasingly out of reach for too many Americans. It’s too expensive, wait times are too long and sometimes they are just far to travel to. 

The truth is, life is more complicated than ever. From our health and finances to home tech and relationships, the problems we face are growing in complexity. But here’s the catch: professional help isn’t scaling with demand. 

This is where AI steps in—not to replace human professionals but to make their expertise more accessible to everyone. AI can synthesize vast amounts of human knowledge, serving as the first line of defense for answering life’s everyday questions. It provides a foundation of insights that were once reserved for those who could pay top dollar or navigate barriers to access. 

But AI alone isn’t the answer. For the hardest, most nuanced challenges, human expertise remains critical. Together, AI and humans offer the best of both worlds: the speed, scale, and efficiency of AI paired with the empathy, intuition, and experience of real professionals. 

We’re entering a new era where everyone, regardless of income or location, can consult a “hybrid expert”: AI for the common answers, humans for the extraordinary ones. This is the best of both worlds—accessible expertise for all. And that changes everything.