How can businesses avoid AI resentment in the workforce?

"The AI spending frenzy is showing no signs of letting up, with a recent IDC forecast projecting IT budgets for AI will expand by 31.9% year-over-year until 2029. This growth will primarily be driven by demand for agentic AI-powered software and applications as enterprises seek greater revenue and profit margins. AI can boost productivity by automating complex, multi-step tasks and freeing up employees to focus on those that absolutely require human oversight."

"These autonomous agents are likely to become a fixed member of the business, with human workers potentially filling the role of 'AI agent bosses'. This reality could materialize sooner rather than later: major tech figures like Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff have already predicted that today's executives are the last to oversee an all-human workforce and Microsoft foresees 1.3 billion agents to be operating by 2028."

""Adopting AI can significantly alter day-to-day workflows and if this shift isn't handled carefully then it can quickly create resistance," says Harry Mason, head of client services at managed IT services provider Mason Infotech. "Too often, we see businesses try to replace an entire 20-step process with AI overnight. This approach is almost guaranteed to fail and will set a negative tone for the tool overall.""

IDC forecasts IT AI budgets to grow 31.9% annually until 2029, fueled by demand for agentic AI-powered software and applications aimed at increasing revenue and margins. Agentic AI automates complex, multi-step tasks and frees employees to focus on work requiring human oversight. Autonomous agents can act without human prompts and are likely to become permanent business tools, with human workers overseeing them as 'AI agent bosses'; major firms predict widespread agent deployment by 2028. Rapid deployments risk employee resentment if change is poorly managed, and weak leadership, poor communication, and abrupt process replacement can provoke resistance.

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