Companies are beginning to evaluate employees' proficiency with artificial intelligence tools, with AI usage increasingly influencing performance reviews, bonuses, and promotion opportunities. This trend reflects a broader business effort to gain value from AI investments, especially as many organizations report a lack of significant returns so far.
Accenture CEO Julie Sweet stated that AI is now integral to how work is done at the company, implying that AI competency is necessary for career progression. Large corporations, including Disney, Meta, JP Morgan, and KPMG, have reportedly implemented "AI leaderboards" to track and rank how employees utilize AI platforms. In some instances, companies like Coinbase have gone as far as to dismiss engineers who did not complete mandated AI training.
This shift is occurring as the job market tightens in some regions, such as the UK where vacancies have reached a five-year low. A recent poll of UK jobseekers indicated that a significant majority would not be deterred from applying to organizations that incorporate AI proficiency into performance reviews, with only a minority finding it off-putting.
One senior executive, who spoke on condition of anonymity, described a situation where AI fluency is becoming more critical than traditional experience. She noted that while there isn't a formal mandate to use AI, its adoption is clearly influencing who is rewarded. "The ground is shifting under us. You've got to demonstrate [AI] fluency and fluidity as one of your key achievements," she said. "In performance reviews, they reward who uses it well."
This executive observed that AI capabilities are starting to outweigh years of experience, creating a divide between employees who embrace AI as a tool and those who view it as a threat. She explained that individuals with less experience but strong AI skills are being prioritized over those with decades of experience but lacking AI fluency. "AI fluency beats credentials every day. Somebody that has 15, 20 years of experience and no AI fluency will be passed over for those that have, say, three years, but are fast with the tools," she stated. According to her, employees not visibly using AI may experience slower promotion timelines and find it harder to gain visibility and be considered for advancement opportunities.