Trending Now - AI Collaboration and Automation: Impact on Workforce Skills
WHO:
KPMG LLP, McCombs School of Business at The University of Texas at Austin, Morgan Stanley, PwC, Google Cloud
15,000 sales representatives trained by Google Cloud
WHAT:
Enterprises are running an average of 200 AI tools.
Nearly half of employees admit to pretending they know how to use AI to avoid looking incompetent.
Companies that win the AI era will be those with the most skilled users, not necessarily the biggest budgets.
Enterprise AI spending reached $37 billion in 2025, a 200% increase from 2024.
75% of enterprises remain in pilot mode for AI initiatives.
Only 28% of employees know how to use their company's AI applications.
7.5% of employees have received extensive AI training.
57% of American employees are reluctant to admit to their managers that they use AI.
42% of companies abandoned most of their AI initiatives in 2025, up from 17% in 2024.
Companies with a formal AI strategy report 80% adoption success, compared to 37% for those without one.
The study analyzed 1.4 million workplace interactions with AI.
WHERE:
The study was published in Harvard Business Review.
WHEN:
The study was conducted in 2025 and published in 2026.
WHY:
The lack of training and knowledge among employees is a significant barrier to AI adoption.
Employees want to use AI but do not know how to use it effectively to generate business value.
HOW:
Morgan Stanley built a GPT-powered assistant to help financial advisors retrieve research and insights during client conversations.
PwC has initiated grassroots “prompting parties” and brainstorming sessions for employees to experiment with generative AI and share use cases.
Leading organizations are embedding AI coaching into workflows and cultivating internal AI communities of practice.
KPMG is applying findings from the study internally and for its clients.
(UPDATED March 23, 2026 13:35 UTC)
Today, a new report reveals that enterprises are now using an average of 200 AI tools, but nearly half of employees admit to pretending they know how to use AI to avoid looking incompetent. Companies that will thrive in the AI era are expected to be those with the most skilled users rather than just the biggest budgets, as seen with Morgan Stanley's development of a GPT-powered assistant to aid financial advisors. Meanwhile, PwC is fostering innovation through grassroots "prompting parties" and brainstorming sessions, encouraging employees to experiment with generative AI and share their experiences.
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(UPDATED March 23, 2026 07:30 UTC)
A new study published in Harvard Business Review reveals that enterprise AI spending soared to $37 billion in 2025, marking a staggering 200% increase from the previous year. Despite this growth, 75% of enterprises remain in pilot mode for their AI initiatives, with only 28% of employees knowing how to effectively use their company's AI applications, highlighting a significant barrier to adoption. Leading organizations, including KPMG, are responding by embedding AI coaching into workflows and fostering internal communities to help bridge the knowledge gap among employees.