Employees are secretly bringing their own AI tools to work so they can keep up

Good morning. For some time, I’ve been speaking with industry experts and CFOs about ways to implement AI in finance and how to determine a business case for generative AI. But there’s new eye-opening information for companies that haven’t yet come up with an AI plan.

 Microsoft's 2024 Work Trend Index, released on Wednesday in partnership with LinkedIn, finds that, in the last six months, the use of generative AI has nearly doubled, with 75% of global knowledge workers using it. (Knowledge workers are considered professionals in roles like public accountants, engineers, editors, and lawyers.)

In addition, 78% of AI users are actually bringing their own AI tools to the workplace, which is coined “BYOAI.” And this action is without guidance or clearance from leadership. But, employees who are trying to keep up with a fast pace and large volumes of work are leaning on the technology. Microsoft and LinkedIn pointed out that BYOAI isn’t just implemented by Gen Z (85%). It cuts across all generations—millennials (78%), Gen X (76%), and boomers (73%).

Seventy-nine percent of leaders surveyed agree their company needs to adopt AI to stay competitive. However, 59% worry about quantifying the productivity gains of AI.

“While leaders agree AI is a business imperative, many believe their organization lacks a plan and vision to go from individual impact to applying AI to drive the bottom line,” according to the report. “The pressure to show immediate ROI is making leaders inert, even in the face of AI inevitability.”

The findings are based on a survey of 31,000 people across 31 countries, identifying labor and hiring trends from LinkedIn, and analyzing Microsoft 365 productivity signals as well as research with Fortune 500 customers. 

Although many knowledge workers are eager to get the ball rolling with AI, some employees are hesitant to use the technology. I recently read an article in Harvard Business Review that speaks to this. It’s titled, “For Success with AI, Bring Everyone On Board” by David De Cremer, a professor of management and technology at Northeastern University. Cremer argues that it’s counterproductive for leaders to avoid involving rank-and-file employees in AI projects.

Cremer writes: “If you want to avoid resistance from your employees when introducing AI, you must push them out of their comfort zone while ensuring that they understand why you’re doing so. They should know how you plan to take care of them during this transition. You’ll need to exercise patience because it will take time and effort for workers to become familiar with AI and see how it can help them in their jobs.” He provides suggestions on what organizations must do to develop employee-inclusive AI practices.