You’re hired, AI: why companies are treating AI like a team member

During recent technology planning sessions, I've noticed a subtle but significant shift in how we discuss AI systems. The conversations increasingly mirror how we talk about human team members – discussing capabilities, evaluating performance and planning for growth. This observation crystallises something I've been seeing across the industry: AI has evolved far beyond being just another enterprise tool.

I’ve been fortunate to see this evolution unfold in real-time during my tenure as CIO at Ivanti. AI is moving beyond basic automation into active collaboration with our workforce, and it's changing how we approach everything from daily operations to strategic planning.

How AI has gone from intruder to team member

Prompt engineers now spend their days anticipating the types of questions users will ask AI systems, demonstrating just how deeply these technologies have woven themselves into our daily operations. This represents a fundamental change in how we view and interact with AI capabilities.

The numbers support this transformation. PWC research reveals that jobs requiring AI skills are growing five times faster than other sectors, with UK employers offering 14% higher compensation for candidates with AI expertise. This surge in demand points to a profound shift in how organisations value AI expertise.

What about fears of replacement?

In my conversations with fellow technology leaders, I hear a lot of concerns about AI's impact on the workforce. Understandably, employees are very concerned about being replaced. And that’s not an entirely unfounded concern, but the reality is a bit more nuanced. Instead of straight-up replacements, we're seeing the emergence of entirely new roles: AI ethicists, trainers and system evaluators who ensure these technologies operate responsibly and effectively.

As AI systems become more sophisticated, we need people who understand both the technical and human aspects of AI deployment. Success requires clear direction, ongoing support and regular feedback – just as it does with any team member.

In addition to the new roles AI is creating, AI has proven to be a very powerful tool that can make employees far more efficient in their legacy roles. Tasks – especially rote, routine tasks – that used to take days or weeks may now take minutes or hours, leaving them more time to innovate and strategise.

Building effective AI partnerships

Training an AI system mirrors the process of onboarding a new team member. For AI to be reliable and accurate, it must be trained, monitored and continuously evaluated. This requires:

• Clear objectives and performance metrics
• Regular evaluation and feedback loops
• Established oversight mechanisms to ensure AI systems remain unbiased and ethical
• Continuous monitoring for alignment with business values

From my perspective as CIO, I've observed that treating AI like a collaborative team member rather than just another software tool leads to better outcomes and stronger adoption across organisations.

Empowering human talent

I meant what I said earlier about AI creating new roles and supporting employees in their legacy roles. But that doesn’t happen automatically. (Ironic, given that AI is in large part about automation.) Employees need to be trained on AI and empowered to use it ethically, effectively and – critically – with security in mind.

Every organisation with any AI interaction (and that means pretty much anyone reading this) needs a fully fleshed-out strategy to ensure AI benefits all team members. That may include:

• Targeted upskilling programmes that prepare employees to work alongside AI effectively
• Reallocation of routine tasks to AI, enabling teams to focus on high-value, strategic work
• Development of new roles that leverage uniquely human skills
• Creation of feedback mechanisms between AI systems and human operators

When deployed thoughtfully, AI frees up our teams to tackle more complex challenges and strategic initiatives.

Welcome to the team

AI isn’t going anywhere and resisting it won’t get you anywhere. How about we embrace it instead? As AI capabilities expand, successful organisations will continue to focus on how humans and artificial intelligence complement each other's strengths, creating a mutually beneficial scenario.

Viewing AI as a complement to human talent (rather than a threat to it) drives organisations to invest simultaneously in technological infrastructure and human capital, with compound benefits. That’s a really good thing, because humans and machines working together can achieve outcomes neither could accomplish independently. Again, doing this right requires frameworks supporting collaboration while maintaining human oversight and guidelines for ethics and security. Are you ready? Let’s welcome AI to the team.