According to a research, companies are falling behind as employees use artificial intelligence to broaden the scope of their jobs, resulting in a growing divide between AI-enabled capabilities and organizational systems.

According to a study by Microsoft, a major US tech business, 58% of users indicated that they are now generating work with AI that they couldn’t have a year ago. This percentage increased to 80% of survey participants who were Frontier Professionals.

Additionally, it stated that in Microsoft 365 Copilot, 49% of discussions include cognitive activity, information analysis, problem-solving, evaluation, and creative thought.

According to the paper, AI is increasing individual potential, but institutional variables dictate whether that potential may be transformed into impact.

The report also emphasized that human agency is the new competitive advantage, with quality control of AI output (50%) and critical thinking (46%) ranking first among the skills that workers believe are most important.

The idea was that AI would rob us of our ability to think critically. However, new research indicates that as AI assumes more execution, employees are getting more control over decision-making, creativity, and results. The report stated that the majority of businesses are not structured to benefit from it.

The tech firm warned of a “transformation paradox” in which 65% of AI users are afraid of falling behind if they don’t embrace AI quickly, while 45% say that it’s safer to continue with their present goals rather than change their work.

In addition, culture, managerial support, and talent practices accounted for around 67% of the impact of AI, which is more than twice as much as the impact of individual variables like attitude and behavior.

Whether or not people have the skills is the critical question; rather, it is whether the company has developed the culture, management strategies, and talent systems necessary to encourage and promote innovation, the report said.