“We have to train our leaders to have different conversations with their people—conversations about the value they bring and the impact they have. Helping employees understand why they matter is essential if we want them to engage with change and new technology.”
Ginnie Carlier
Why every AI strategy
is a people
strategy
Business leaders are
quickly learning that AI adoption
isn’t just a technology challenge—it’s a human
one. While employees are broadly enthusiastic about
working with AI, that optimism is often undermined
by job insecurity, skills anxiety, and unclear direction
from leadership.
The companies seeing real returns from AI are those that treat people as the catalyst, not the constraint. By prioritizing transparency, engagement, and skill-building, these organizations are accelerating adoption because employees feel equipped and confident to evolve alongside the technology. At the same time, executives are rethinking how they recruit and retain the AI talent required to sustain that momentum.
Here’s how industry leaders are engaging employees with a clear vision for a human-AI future—by focusing on transparency, skills, and support so everyone can grow with the technology.
With the rapid spread of AI across business operations, leaders are rethinking who they hire and how. Demand for AI skills is expected to rise sharply, with many organizations looking to reinvest efficiency gains into attracting external talent with AI expertise. Meanwhile, AI is reshaping recruitment itself, from sourcing to screening, as automation promises faster hiring and better quality matches at scale.
recruitment reimagined
Chief Talent and Culture Officer, EY
Talent:
The new AI talent equation
“Companies are already using AI across talent acquisition, from sourcing to screening and interviewing. As candidate volumes rise, many organizations will be forced to rely on AI not just to move faster, but to make better hiring decisions.”
CEO, Broadstaff
CARRIE CHARLES
60
%
of recruitment leaders use automation to improve quality of hire.
Source: Agentic AI in the Workplace Survey, Ernst & Young LLP, 2025
Source: US AI Pulse Survey, Ernst & Young LLP, 2025
of employees are eager to embrace agentic AI.
%
84
Source: EY TalentMiner – AI-Based Digital Hiring Solution, Ernst & Young LLP
of businesses experiencing
AI productivity gains reinvest in external AI talent.
%
34
Businesses are investing heavily in AI to drive productivity, but tools alone don’t create value—people do. While many employees are eager to learn how to work with AI, most are doing so without structure or guidance. Closing that gap requires strong leadership: C-suite executives who build their own AI fluency while making sustained investments in learning and development. Those that do will be better positioned to convert experimentation into measurable performance gains.
unlocking ai value
with learning
Skills equal success
83
%
of workers say most of their AI knowledge is self-taught.
Source:
Agentic AI in the Workplace Survey,
Ernst & Young LLP, 2025
of leaders say they’ve deployed AI training or upskilling programs.
Source:
Agentic AI in the Workplace Survey,
Ernst & Young LLP, 2025
52
%
of AI productivity gains are driven by employee skills and training.
Source:
Can AI advance toward value if workforce tensions linger?, EYGM Limited, 2025
50
%
“Across many of the companies we work with, there’s a wide divide: Around 20% of the workforce is obsessed with AI, learning how to use it, testing, trying things. And there are a bunch of people who are like, ‘I’m not really interested.’ You need intellectual curiosity. You need reskilling. You need people that want to engage with this.”
CEO, Invisible Technologies
Matt Fitzpatrick
“Many of the organizations I’ve spoken with that have invested in employee-based tools say the biggest value they see is employee satisfaction. Their people feel good about the organization investing in their ability to be more proficient, efficient, and productive.”
AI and Data Leader,
EY Americas
Traci Gusher
Source: Agentic AI in the Workplace Survey, Ernst & Young LLP, 2025
of employees report productivity gains when AI strategy is clearly communicated.
%
92
CLARITY IS CRITICal
Employee engagement is one of the most underestimated drivers of AI success. Leaders clearly communicating how AI will be used and why directly influences whether tools are adopted and embedded into day-to-day work. Without that clarity, AI initiatives stall at the pilot stage.
The importance
of employee engagement
of employees are enthusiastic about AI when leaders provide clear direction.
%
87
of employees use
AI tools when AI strategy is clearly communicated.
%
66
AI’s ultimate impact will be determined less by technology than leadership choices. The organizations most likely to succeed will be those that rethink talent acquisition,
invest seriously in skills, and engage employees with
clarity and confidence. When people understand how AI
fits into their work—and feel supported in adapting to it—
adoption accelerates, performance follows, and AI becomes a true growth engine.
Learn more about how EY helps organizations bring people, AI, and workforce strategy together to drive long-term growth at EY.com.
Source: Agentic AI in the Workplace Survey, Ernst & Young LLP, 2025
Source: Agentic AI in the Workplace Survey, Ernst & Young LLP, 2025
