Globally, 58% of workers use AI tools at least sometimes, with a third using them weekly or daily (Melbourne Business School, 2025). AI’s ubiquity is reshaping expectations around productivity, value and skill in the workplace. Yet many employees lack corporate oversight or training, forcing them to navigate AI adoption independently, without learning best practices.

Some 88% of companies worldwide are using AI in at least one core business function (McKinsey, 2025). From agents that autonomously execute routine duties to those that function as virtual coworkers, AI is moving from a task-focused assistant to always-on corporate infrastructure, speeding up assignments and changing how workers focus and collaborate.

AI adoption is reshaping company cultures, both by increasing productivity expectations and reimagining how work gets done. Some companies are proactively managing AI’s professional embedding with formal policies – see the rollout of AI teammates from US tech giant Cisco. Others are offering company-wide tools that support employees with everything from inbox management to learning corporate jargon.  

Although recent data suggest that AI has yet to result in mass layoffs, experts note that this could change as adoption accelerates. Employees are anticipating how their current and future work may shift alongside AI, leading some to upskill to retain a competitive advantage and others to proactively search for new roles (with AI’s help).