IMD AI Safety Clock moves to 15 minutes to midnight as AI risks accelerate
The AI Safety Clock enters the critical risk zone as autonomous agents gain authority, military AI expands, and AGI-related risks accelerate....
Artificial Intelligence
Access to tools, not training, is stifling AI value
Europe’s AI ambitions are stalling, but not due to a skills gap. Limited access to tools and outdated work design are holding companies back.
Rapid read:
- Only a third (34%) of European employees say they can fully use the AI tools already available to them – the fix lies in better tool access, clearer leadership direction, and redesigned work, not more training.
- A small group of “talent reinventors” – fewer than one in six organizations – redesign work around AI instead of bolting it on as an extra skill, and report stronger cultures and innovation as a result.
- Across Europe, just 9% of employees say their roles and responsibilities have changed significantly due to AI implementation.
AI’s potential to drive growth and competitiveness means organizations across industries are doubling down on training. They are launching AI academies, scaling certifications, and urging employees to build their skill sets. Yet 34% of employees say they are able to make full use of the technology available to them to improve their performance (see About the research, below).
This disconnect between potential and practical use points to a management misdiagnosis weighing on Europe’s AI ambitions: close the skills gap, and productivity will follow. This approach fails to recognize the important role access to AI tools plays.
Based on our research, a handful of European organizations – what we call “talent reinventors” – are taking a more holistic approach. These companies share six key characteristics that other firms should heed to tap into stronger financial performance, improved innovation skills, and employee experience.
Patchy AI adoption within organizations is starting to create an internal divide that can stymie competitive gains.
Why skills alone will not unlock Europe’s AI ambitions
Patchy AI adoption within organizations is starting to create an internal divide that can stymie competitive gains. An AI-adjacent subset of employees is often working differently – in a faster, more augmented, and more experimental way. But this group is small: across Europe, 9% of employees say their roles and responsibilities have changed significantly due to AI implementation.
In contrast, 43% say their roles have only minimally changed or remained the same. This AI-isolated group continues to work within largely unchanged workflows, with limited exposure to how AI might reshape their roles. A persistent rolling approach to skills development in the absence of access to the right tools prevents the organization from capturing the potential of AI implementation.
On the surface, the picture looks promising. Almost two-thirds of the employees we surveyed say AI boosts productivity (66%), engagement (63%), and the pace of professional development (61%). And leaders express strong confidence in their organizations’ readiness to upskill the workforce: 91% say they have most of the systems, processes, and culture needed to effectively upskill employees for an AI-powered future.
However, that confidence is not always matched by execution. Two-thirds of employees cite a lack of clear direction from leadership as a key barrier to adoption. Just 31% of organizations have aligned their talent, technology, and business strategies. This misalignment shows operationally: disconnected initiatives, unclear decision rights, and learning that sits outside the flow of execution.
About the research
The data in this article is drawn from surveys of 1,320 C-suite executives and 4,560 employees,as well as  interviews, focus groups, labor market analytics, and analysis of executive communication.
More details can be found in the full report: Talent Reinventors: Delivering value with and for people in the age of AI.
What talent reinventors do differently
What we call “talent reinventors” make up a small group of organizations – fewer than one in six in Europe. Their distinguishing feature is the way they frame the opportunity AI presents. Rather than treating AI as an additional capability layered onto existing roles, they use it to rethink how work itself is organized for everyone.
Goals shift accordingly. How can tasks, decisions, and workflows be reconfigured to amplify the gains from training people on new technologies? Where does human judgment create the most value alongside machines?
They share six strategic characteristics:
- Clarity: They establish common goals and priorities to boost cross-functional interaction. More than half (54%) primarily focus on reshaping talent strategy to build long-term capacity (vs. 38% of peers).
- Intelligent teaming: Two-thirds of talent reinventors (66%) integrate data to strengthen execution, innovation, and decision-making, using AI tools to inform faster and more data-driven decisions (vs. 50% of peers).
- Talent mobility: They strive to match the right people with the right opportunities. Thirty-eight percent have very high, data-driven visibility into employee skills (vs. 3% of peers).
- Co-learning: They create environments in which humans and AI continuously learn and adapt to one another. Eighty-eight percent use AI-powered tools to deliver real-time learning nudges and personalized content (vs. 10% of peers).
- Breakthrough leadership: They build trust and confidence by establishing clear governance around ethics and data security. More than seven in 10 (72%) treat culture as a strategic asset (vs. 35% of peers).
- Personalized experiences: They use data on individual performance, preferences, and skills to tailor professional development. Sixty-six percent use AI to improve employee experience and engagement (vs. 55% of peers).
This orientation is reflected in outcomes. Talent reinventors are seven times more likely to strengthen their organizational culture, six times more likely to improve employee experience, and four times more likely to enhance workforce adaptability. They also report an 11% uplift in innovation-related skills. As such, their financial outperformance – revenues and profits 1.8 and 1.4 percentage points higher, respectively, than their peers in 2025 – suggests these workforce investments are not simply improving people outcomes but creating measurable business value.
AI readiness does not mean everyone has to become a prompt engineer, data scientist, or AI architect.
A defining moment for Europe
AI readiness does not mean everyone has to become a prompt engineer, data scientist, or AI architect. Organizations seeking to boost agency and opportunity across the workforce should worry less about expanding training and more about effectively integrating AI into the core of work. In organizations where people understand what tasks and decisions can be augmented, automated, or reimagined, AI becomes less a productivity tool and more an engine for growth.
This transition is as much about leadership as technology. It requires making choices about what changes, what remains human-led, and how performance is sustained in a more fluid, AI-enabled environment. The key questions are: To what extent can people meaningfully use AI in their jobs today? And how do we redesign work so people can sustain performance as AI – and expectations – evolve?
Authors
Related
AI leaders are pulling the safety alarm. Here's what that means for business leaders
Amid warnings from industry insiders that AI will soon outpace human control, IMD's experts break down where business leaders should be focusing their attention....
Six new AI imperatives for every CEO and Board 
Record CEO turnover, fractured geopolitics, and an AI transition that most companies are failing to profit from require a fundamental shift in the ways we lead and govern. Here is how to...
AI strategy is a journey – these are the levers that matter
AI strategy is not about adopting technology. It is about deciding where to compete as value shifts across ecosystems and value chains – and having the organizational levers to make the move....
Learn Brain Circuits
Join us for daily exercises focusing on issues from team building to developing an actionable sustainability plan to personal development. Go on - they only take five minutes.
Â
Explore Leadership
What makes a great leader? Do you need charisma? How do you inspire your team? Our experts offer actionable insights through first-person narratives, behind-the-scenes interviews and The Help Desk.
Â
Join Membership
Log in here to join in the conversation with the I by IMD community. Your subscription grants you access to the quarterly magazine plus daily articles, videos, podcasts and learning exercises.
Â