The accounting firm will use AI to consult on complex tax, legal and human resources matters, such as conducting due diligence on companies, identifying compliance issues, and recommending whether to authorise business deals.

The tie-up makes PwC the first of the Big Four to partner with OpenAI, which is regarded as one of the companies at the forefront of generative AI technology with its ChatGPT chatbot.

The top audit firms have been cutting costs to cope with a slowdown in professional services. PwC is freezing pay increases and bonuses for some of its 25,000 UK staff, Deloitte LLP will cut more than 800 jobs in the UK, Ernst & Young LLP is to cull about five per cent of staff from its UK financial services consulting division, while KPMG LLP is planning to cut 125 consulting jobs.

The OpenAI partnership, which is not based on ChatGPT, won't result in job cuts in the near term, PwC said.