What is AI in the workplace?

AI in the workplace is about using artificial intelligence to improve how organizations operate day to day. AI can help automate routine tasks, support better decisions, and give people more time for activities that depend on judgment and relationships. But the real value comes from how people and AI collaborate in everyday tasks. The organizations seeing the strongest results from workplace AI are not focused only on tools. They are helping leaders and teams adapt so AI becomes part of how the business operates across the organization.

How is AI reshaping the modern workplace?

AI is changing the workplace in practical ways. Routine work is becoming easier to automate, while employees spend more time solving problems, collaborating, and focusing on customers and strategy. The bigger shift is how organizations are redesigning work itself. Roles, workflows, and leadership expectations are evolving as businesses rethink the relationship between people and AI. That's why conversations about AI and the future of work are increasingly focused on how work changes, not just the technology behind it.

What are the biggest opportunities and risks of AI adoption at work?

For many organizations, the biggest opportunity with AI is giving people more time for higher-value work and helping the business create value in new ways. But AI at work can create challenges too. Adoption may be uneven, or employees may feel uncertain about how AI will affect their role. Without trust and clear leadership, even strong technology investments can lose momentum. Organizations make more progress when people understand why change is happening and have space to experiment as new ways of working take shape. AI works best when people feel confident using AI in the workplace and work is designed to support it.

How should organizations prepare their workforce for AI integration?

Preparing people for AI in the workforce starts with clarity. Employees need to understand how AI supports their work and when human oversight is still essential. Training helps, but confidence matters too. People are more likely to adopt AI when leaders encourage experimentation and learning through practical use. Strong AI workforce planning also helps organizations understand which skills and ways of working need to evolve as AI becomes part of everyday work.

What does responsible AI use in the workplace look like?

As AI becomes part of everyday work, trust matters more. Employees want to understand how AI is being used and where human oversight still plays a role. Responsible AI use means having clear governance around data, decision-making, and accountability. It also means making sure AI supports people rather than removing human judgment from important moments at work.

How can leaders build employee confidence in AI-powered work tools?

Leadership behavior shapes how people respond to AI. When leaders communicate openly, use the tools themselves, and make learning feel safe, trust builds much faster. Confidence also grows through practical experience. Small wins and shared learning help people see how AI can support better work instead of creating uncertainty about the future. Korn Ferry's AI Readiness Diagnostic is an AI readiness assessment that helps leaders understand where teams feel confident using AI and where more support may be needed.

How to Build an AI-Ready Financial Services Workforce

Financial services firms see huge potential in AI, but success depends on applying it responsibly in high-trust, highly regulated environments.

Walk into any bank branch today and you'll notice there aren’t many people. The transactions that used to require a face-to-face conversation now happen online, at any hour of the day.

These days, clients across the financial services industry expect 24/7 access from wherever they are. And there's real pressure to deliver smoother experiences and better data-driven recommendations faster.

AI is helping make it happen.

Retail banks are using AI chatbots to automate transactional tasks and detect fraud. Wealth managers are parsing client data with AI tools to make personalized asset allocation recommendations. And in the fintech and digital banking space, AI-powered data analysis is determining credit risk.

Yet there are big challenges for AI adoption in the financial services industry:

at a glance

SITUATION

AI is helping financial services organizations deliver smoother client experiences 24/7.

‍CHALLENGE

Trust, regulation, and leadership readiness are slowing adoption.

‍SOLUTION

Turn customer and market data into faster, more personalized financial decisions without compromising trust.

Regulatory risk: This is the number one barrier to AI adoption, say global CEOs and board directors in our CEO & Board Survey 2025. “The pressure isn't just to adopt, but to adopt carefully,” says Patrick Maeder, managing partner of Global Growth & Markets at Korn Ferry.

‍AI governance: Organizations may lack the necessary systems and people to properly mitigate the risks of AI adoption. “To safely activate AI in financial services, oversight is a must,” says Maeder.

‍Security: In an era of accelerating cyberattacks, AI can help with security, but it can also increase risk.

‍Accuracy: One miscalculation can cost millions. It’s essential that your AI tools don’t introduce inaccuracies, which it has a reputation for doing.

‍Trust: Besides AI working properly, your clients and workforce also have to trust that it does. Otherwise, you could lose customers or see low AI adoption rates among your people.

‍Leadership readiness: “Most financial services leaders have a vision for AI, but few have the hands-on experience needed to embed it within daily operations,” says Maeder.

‍Workforce anxiety: Fifty-three percent of financial services employees expect AI to replace their roles within three years, according to Workforce 2025 data. That fear creates real barriers to confident AI adoption.

Firms that make AI part of their daily operations while earning and maintaining the trust of their workforces are the ones best positioned to meet these challenges.

But it’ll take strategic implementation to come out ahead. "AI technology is available to anyone," says Maeder. "The companies that are most successful will be the ones that find the right mix of tools and people."

The talent opportunity is real. The firms moving fastest are finding workers who are curious and adaptable, and who will be able to lead others. In financial services, where AI is touching everything from fraud detection to client advisory, those internal advocates can turn a pilot program into real, lasting change.

This guide is about how to get there.

AI in the Workplace Snapshot: Financial Services

Financial services talent isn’t afraid of AI. But its workers often don’t feel like they’re getting the most out of it. A workforce that’s optimistic about AI gets results when it uses AI, reveals recent Korn Ferry research.* They’re just waiting for their organizations to catch up.

53% of financial services workers expect AI to replace their role, but 69% still feel excited about what AI means for their work
65% say AI improved their results, and 62% feel adequately trained to use it
77% believe their skills will stay relevant, yet more than half expect AI to outpace them anyway

*Workforce 2025

Scaling AI Pilots to Drive Performance

A strong pilot is one thing. Scaling AI across the business is a lot harder.

You can’t just layer AI onto existing structures and ways of working. That’s where many organizations get stuck.

Real impact comes when AI becomes part of how the business operates. That means redesigning work and reshaping the organization around new ways of working.

How to Assess Your AI Readiness

Getting AI to work across your business takes more than one change.

Our AI Readiness Diagnostic helps you understand where you are in your AI journey and what may be holding progress back.

It focuses on the areas that help AI move beyond pilots and into everyday work, including:

Strategy & Vision
Leadership
Organization Design
Workforce Skills
Culture
Movement Making

Your results show where you’re ready to scale AI and what to focus on next.

AI Leadership

Leaders set the tone for everything. If they’re unsure about AI, everyone else will be too.

AI-ready leaders bring confidence and clarity from the start. They move fast without being reckless, and they look beyond short pilots to build impact that lasts.

When the work gets difficult, they hold the vision steady.

That means learning as they go and creating an environment where others can do the same.

Organization

“The real ‘aha’ moment is realizing that AI is a way to transform work itself, not simply do the same work faster.”
Shanda Mints, VP, AI Strategy & Transformation, Korn Ferry

Organizations don’t become AI-ready by accident.

It starts with how work is designed. Jobs, roles, and decisions all need to reflect how people and technology come together.

With the right systems and data in place, AI can scale across the organization.

Get the design right, and AI becomes part of how the business runs. Get it wrong, and even the best technology sits unused.

Workforce

An AI-ready workforce has the skills and confidence to use AI in daily work.

People understand when AI removes friction and speeds up work. And they know when human judgment should lead.

They also have clarity on how their roles are changing and where they can grow.

That understanding helps people use AI in ways that improve the work itself.

Culture

“AI transformation moves faster when people and communities learn together.”
Mirka Kowalczuk, AI Strategy & Transformation Leader, Korn Ferry

Culture shapes whether people use AI or avoid it.

In AI-ready cultures, people feel safe to experiment and learn without worrying about getting it wrong. Curiosity is encouraged, and trust builds overtime.

AI becomes something teams use together, rather than something imposed on them.

Explore AI-Ready Culture

Movement Making

AI transformation needs momentum. People need to see what’s changing and why it matters. They also need to see how to start using AI in their own work.

Movement Making is Korn Ferry’s approach to helping organizations build that momentum. It brings together clear communication, visible leadership, and practical support so AI becomes part of everyday work.

That’s how change starts to stick.

Case Study: When Leadership Is the Missing Piece

A large retail bank had a solid AI strategy, but its senior leadership wasn’t ready to execute it.

Many executives were uncertain about how to incorporate AI into their day-to-day decision-making. Some were overly risk-averse. Others didn’t trust AI outputs enough to act on them. A few didn’t fully understand the capabilities and limitations of AI in a banking context.

The bank realized that the real obstacle wasn’t technology. It was culture and mindset. They had the resources and the road map. What was needed were executives who had confidence, curiosity, and hands-on familiarity with AI to drive transformation from the top.

The Approach

Korn Ferry designed and delivered a comprehensive AI Leadership Readiness program for approximately 300 senior leaders across the organization.

Each leader completed an AI-focused assessment, receiving a personalized “AI readiness” score that surfaced specific blind spots, such as low tolerance for experimentation or limited trust in AI outputs.
Interactive workshops and real-world simulations put executives in scenarios where AI identified opportunities their teams had missed.
Leaders studied examples of effective AI leadership from across the financial services industry.

The Impact

300 senior leaders assessed and equipped with a personalized path to AI readiness
A shift from risk-averse resistance to active engagement with AI-driven decision-making across the leadership team
An internal AI Leadership Forum established to sustain momentum and embed ongoing learning into the organization’s culture

Why Korn Ferry for Financial Services?

Nobody understands financial services talent like we do. Our expertise spans asset management, investment banking, and private equity.

We go beyond placement to help financial firms build and develop high-performing teams. And the insights used to inform our process and advice is grounded in the financial industry’s largest HR and compensation database, ensuring decisions reflect real market conditions.

This is why the world's largest financial services firms choose Korn Ferry.

The Time to Close the Gap Is Now

The data clearly shows the financial services workforce is ready for AI. Workers who use it are getting results and are staying optimistic, even as they brace for disruption. The gap is around leadership and enablement.

The firms closing that gap now are already pulling ahead. They’re delivering better client experiences and making good decisions faster. They’re also enabling their talent to adapt as the technology keeps changing. In a sector where trust and performance are paramount, this advantage compounds.

Firms waiting for certainty before they act are falling behind in real time.

Getting AI right in financial services is a technology decision. But it’s equally important to consider talent and culture. Korn Ferry works with financial services organizations at every stage of that journey.