Workers Seek AI More Than Their Roles Permit: Cognizant Report
While 4 out of 5 employees want AI more than their jobs permit, 72% to 82% of workers said their existing AI tools did not meet their needs.
A new Cognizant report found that 4 out of 5 employees want to use AI more than their current jobs permit. However, 72% to 82% of the respondents said their existing AI tools did not meet their needs.
The report titled New Frontiers, New Frictions: Mapping the DNA of AI Adoption identifies an “Activation Gap” as the divide between employees’ belief in AI’s potential and their ability to use it effectively in their jobs.
The findings suggest that expanding access to AI alone may not deliver productivity gains. Companies also need to adapt tools to specific workflows, business requirements and employee needs.
The latest Cognizant study estimates that a uniform 5% increase in global labour productivity could add about $6T to global gross domestic product (GDP), nearly the size of Japan’s economy.
Among Accelerators, or power users with the highest levels of AI use, and Architects, the fastest-adopting employees, 33% identified missing context and a lack of customisation as the leading factor limiting their AI use.
The report also identifies two employee groups, Navigators and Stalwarts, as a significant opportunity for companies seeking to expand adoption. Together, they account for 72% of workers, according to the study.
Navigators are willing to use AI but face organisational barriers that prevent them from doing so effectively. Stalwarts, by contrast, need a clearer rationale and business case before adopting the technology.
The study also found substantial differences in how employees experience AI training. Among Architects, 81% rated their training as effective, and 83% completed it. Among Holdouts, the group least inclined to use AI, only 56% considered their training effective, while 53% completed it.
However, the findings indicate that training alone cannot resolve the problems limiting workplace AI adoption. Despite receiving the most effective and most frequently completed training, 87% of Architects said they turn to unsanctioned tools when approved options fail to meet their needs.
“For the technology to unlock the roughly $6 trillion in potential GDP growth that AI could provide, companies must simultaneously provide context-specific tools to a receptive employee base while also improving their training programs to customise them for different personas and increase their effectiveness at producing real results,” said Ravi Kumar S, CEO, Cognizant.
The findings suggest that companies seeking returns from AI investments need to look beyond deployment numbers and training completion rates. Whether employees can apply AI to their actual work, using tools suited to their needs, may be a more meaningful test of adoption.