AI is changing the way individuals and businesses are approaching work as revealed in Talent’s latest survey report which was released today. The report features insights from over 850 business leaders and technology professionals across diverse industries in Australia and New Zealand. Access the findings HERE.

The survey, focused on six key themes, Perception, Current Use & Adoption, Strategy & Leadership, Skills & Enablement, Barriers & Challenges, and Agentic AI, offer an in-depth understanding of how AI is being implemented today and its implications for the future of work.

Key findings include:

• Only 12% of organisations are planning to hire an AI specialist or leader over the next 12-18 months.
• AI has not impacted workforce planning for 55% of organisations.
• Only 5% of survey participants feel their organisation is responding to the changing AI landscape ‘Extremely well’.
• 90% of business leaders believe AI will positively impact their team’s work in the next 2 years. Whereas only 63% of workers believe AI will positively impact their role in the next 2 years.
• 25% of workers are concerned about job displacement due to agentic AI systems.
• Security or compliance concerns remains to be the biggest barrier preventing teams from using AI more regularly for 46% of respondents.
• 52% of organisations are offering training or upskilling opportunities related to AI.

Matthew Munson, Talent Managing Director NSW, weighed in on what he is seeing in the recruitment market, “AI is reshaping how businesses and individuals approach work, but our latest survey shows there’s still a cautious optimism in the market. While 90% of leaders see AI’s positive impact on their teams, only a small number are actively hiring AI specialists. This gap highlights the opportunity, and urgency, for organisations to build stronger AI capabilities otherwise risk being left behind.”

Jack Jorgensen, Practice Lead – AI, Data & Innovation at project delivery company Avec, said, “AI is fundamentally transforming the workplace. However, there are many unseen challenges. The implementation of large-scale AI projects can necessitate the storage of enormous volumes of data, which in turn requires fast and reliable access. Cloud storage, while convenient, comes with substantial costs which may not be considered in this regard. There are also security considerations evolving at an accelerated pace. There needs to be a greater focus on developing effective solutions and having the right AI leaders in the business to ensure the success.”