In 2023 Gen AI was wowing everyone. Early adopters were experimenting and companies were a little wary. With good reason. AI was new, it was expensive and companies weren’t at all sure how to integrate it. Fast forward to 2025 and now the tables have turned, with CEOs leading the charge. It’s not longer a question whether companies are adopting AI into their systems and operations, but how.
Employees seem to be in distinct camps when it comes to working with AI. Some have gone all-in, exploring the many different ways in which they can use AI to become more efficient. They’re the prompt-masters, the ones that have developed their own GPTs and have fun playing around with Generative AI in their spare time.
Despite this, there are still a portion of employees that remain wary of AI for a number of reasons, and the biggest of this is that AI will replace them. This fear is not unfounded. In the tech sector especially, there have been large layoffs. Some employees have even reported that they’ve been instructed to train AI to replace entire teams. That’s not a position your average employee would like to be in – being responsible for colleagues losing their jobs.
Given this tension that remains with AI adoption, how do companies encourage employees to work with it, especially if they feel threatened? Turns out there are a few approaches:
- The “Don’t give them a choice method.” Which will of course reinforce the believe that they’re unimportant to the company and next out the door. Enforcement doesn’t equal engagement, and ultimately for systems to work, even if they are driven by AI, there needs to be employee buy-in.
- Then there’s the “Tell them how great it is approach.” Nothing new here, everyone everywhere has been saying that for the last two years. If they’re still wary of AI after all this time they’re not suddenly going to change their mind just because their boss says so.
- And finally, there’s the less considered, more time-consuming approach of “How it will make you better at your job idea.” In other words, actually showing employees how to work with AI tools. This includes giving them an opportunity to experiment with various tools, while providing guidance on best practices so that they can be less nervous about making mistakes.
Despite personal views, AI is not going anywhere. This is a reality that companies and employees need to accept. AI might become more regulated in future and ethical concerns may eventually be addressed, but currently it’s becoming integrated into multiple aspects of business operations because it’s offering efficiencies that cannot be matched by old methodologies.
Employees that understand the benefits and can see the opportunities for new ways of working will ultimately be the ones to benefit from career progression opportunities. When viewed from that perspective, employees are more likely to buy-in to AI adoption – and that’s the engagement companies need to stay competitive.
