We’re finally past the hype, and AI usage is leveling off, according to new research. Now businesses must work more intentionally when it comes to building employee adoption.
A new survey from Slack’s Workforce Lab found that after a spike in the first quarter, employee adoption of AI is plateauing.
“We can get through this,” said Christina Janzer, SVP of research and analytics at Slack. ”We still see so much opportunity for AI to improve people’s jobs, for it to reduce the work of work, to give people more time to work on more meaningful tasks. We just need to address the blockers.”
Five guys. Slack research revealed five types of employee personalities when it comes to AI. The maximalist is excited about using the tech at work and actively trying to bring their colleagues with them. The underground user uses AI, but on the sly. The rebel is distrusting of the technology and maybe a bit fearful; unlike the observer, who has adopted a wait and see approach. The superfan is excited about AI at work but feels it’s “out of reach for them.”
Understanding your employees and how to bring them to the technology will require some work.
“We can’t just give [AI] to people and expect them to figure it out on their own,” Janzer said. “There’s so much more that we can do to create more intentional adoption plans, and that’s really going to help us get through this trough.”
The survey found that 48% of all desk workers are uncomfortable with their manager knowing they used AI, reporting that they are concerned AI use would indicate they were cheating, lazy, or less competent.
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What’s HR to do? Trust is the antidote, Janzer said, adding that “trust comes up so often when we do any sort of research about AI.”
Workers who trust their managers to know about their AI use are 67% more likely to use these tools at work than those who are not comfortable sharing.
In addition to improving trust, employees need help addressing three main blockers:
- Training. Most workers have spent fewer than five hours participating in AI-related learning and training, and 30% say that they've had no training at all, according to Slack.
- Guidance. What are employees allowed to do with AI? What tools are acceptable to use at work? “Guidance really matters. Workers with guidance saw a 13% increase in AI adoption versus workers without guidance only saw a 2% increase,” Janzer said.
- Culture. People learn from one another and understand what’s possible and acceptable at work by seeing what their leaders and coworkers are doing. Managers, she said, need to find ways to bring AI use out in the open.
An agent for change. Here’s where new applications of AI technology are going to really help, Janzer said. AI agents perform pre-programmed approved tasks. The permissions needed to access the correct data to perform those tasks are also already set, taking the guesswork out of using AI at work.
“What’s really unique about agents is that they have very clearly defined roles. They have very explicit guidelines, and this, I think, is really going to help solve a lot of the ambiguity and anxiety that many of our workers are feeling around using AI at work,” Janzer said.