More Businesses Are Turning to Artificial Intelligence to Boost Workforce Capacity

Organizations need to leverage the potential of artificial intelligence (AI) to bridge the growing gap between business demands and human limitations. This is highlighted in Microsoft's fifth annual Work Trend Index report on labor market trends, according to information from the software company, cited by BTA.

The report, developed in partnership with LinkedIn and titled "2025: The Year the Leader Company is Born," analyzes the opinions of 31,000 professionals from 31 countries, as well as trillions of aggregated signals from emails, meetings, and chats in Microsoft 365, Microsoft states.

An increasing number of executives are turning to digital labor to expand workforce capacity, with 82% planning to implement AI-based solutions within the next 12 to 18 months. Meanwhile, 53% of executives believe productivity must improve, but 80% of employees and managers say they lack the time and energy to meet rising expectations. Workplace interruptions continue to be a major challenge — employees are often distracted by emails, meetings, and chats, making it difficult to focus and achieve meaningful outcomes, the report notes.

Experts at Microsoft emphasize that businesses are moving away from traditional hierarchical structures toward more dynamic, results-driven work models, where teams of people and AI agents collaborate to achieve large-scale outcomes. This trend is already visible: 46% of leaders report that their organizations are fully automating workflows with the help of AI agents, particularly in areas like customer service, marketing, and product development.

The report also highlights the growing role of employees as managers of AI agents — people who build, assign tasks to, and oversee AI tools to enhance their own productivity. It is expected that within five years, teams will regularly train and manage AI agents as part of their everyday responsibilities. However, there is still a significant gap in AI adoption: 67% of executives are familiar with working alongside AI agents, while only 40% of employees are. Furthermore, 79% of executives believe AI will accelerate their career advancement, compared to 67% of employees who share this optimism. This underlines the urgent need for training and upskilling in the AI domain, Microsoft concludes.