Tech companies are requiring employees to learn and use AI at work—here's the best way to do that, experts say

CNBC

a day ago

Using artificial intelligence on the job is becoming increasingly common across the U.S. Some bosses — particularly at tech companies — even require it, for either some or all of their employees.
E-commerce giant Shopify, for example, is in the "all" camp, co-founder and CEO Tobias Lütke wrote in a company-wide memo, which he posted to social media network X on April 7.
"Using AI effectively is now a fundamental expectation of everyone at Shopify. It's a tool of all trades today, and will only grow in importance," Lütke wrote. "Frankly, I don't think it's feasible to opt out of learning the skill of applying AI in your craft; you are welcome to try, but I want to be honest, I cannot see this working out today, and definitely not tomorrow."
Fiverr CEO Micha Kaufmann similarly told employees and freelancers to "study, research and master the latest AI solutions in your field," in an internal email he posted to X on April 8. "AI is coming for your jobs," he wrote. "Heck, it's coming for my job, too. This is a wake-up call."Duolingo co-founder and CEO Luis von Ahn joined in, too. "Duolingo is going to be AI-first," von Ahn wrote in an email posted to Duolingo's LinkedIn page on April 28. "We'll gradually stop using contractors to do work that AI can handle. ... Headcount will only be given if a team cannot automate more of their work."
Plans to foster an AI-empowered workforce could be timely: Tech luminaries like Bill Gates and Mark Cuban say that AI will greatly change the way many people live and work, potentially as soon as within the next 10 years.
But encouraging AI at work — in a way that's actually helpful — may not be quite as easy as simply requiring that people start using it. Here's what good bosses can do to get their employees interested in using AI, according to leadership experts.
The most important lesson for any leader, says Rohan Verma: If you mandate or heavily encourage AI, you need to teach employees how to use it in ways that'll specifically benefit your business.
Verma, who runs San Francisco-based executive coaching firm Arbor Advisory, says he worked with Microsoft-owned GitHub to help implement the parent company's Copilot AI tool across the organization. "[Microsoft] rolled out a pretty formal coaching program, specific resources and proper onboarding. They didn't just say 'Use the tool.' They gave a set of options on how to thrive with it," he says.
If you want to get more people around you to use AI, start by gauging how much they already know about the technology, recommends Kalifa Oliver, an author, executive advisor and global director for employee experience at Ford.
Then, if you have the budget, "invest in the infrastructure" to help train your colleagues on AI tools that are new to them, or advanced ways of using familiar systems, says Oliver. This could include access to online courses and learning platforms, mentorship programs or assessments to gauge what employees already know about using AI and what they need to be more efficient, she adds.
Don't use AI primarily as a cost-cutting method, automating tasks best done by humans or even replacing human headcount, warns Oliver. Even the most advanced AI models make factual errors, and if the wrong human is out of the office, those mistakes could go unnoticed and create problems, she notes.
"I think CEOs will start taking an all-in stance because it sounds good, unfortunately. Do I think that it's a stance that CEOs should take? That's a different story," Oliver says.
,