AI team-building with the AI persona quiz

Quick take: 

Slack’s Workforce Index research shows that leader urgency to implement AI has increased 7x over the last year. Employees who are using AI are seeing a boost to productivity and overall workplace satisfaction. And yet the majority of desk workers — more than two-thirds — have still never tried AI at work.

Through in-depth interviews and a survey of 5,000 full-time desk workers, Slack’s Workforce Lab explored what motivates workers to use AI and how they feel about using AI at work, identifying five distinct “AI persona types.” 

What this means for leaders: “Employees’ attitudes and opinions about AI drive their behavior and adoption patterns. With the widely varying perspectives among desk workers, this research makes clear that AI enablement can’t be one size fits all,” says Christina Janzer, head of the Workforce Lab. “But these perspectives are not fixed; it’s still early days of the AI-powered workforce. AI personas give leaders a temperature check on where their teams are today and can help define an AI roadmap for their teams moving forward.”

Meet the five AI persona types

🥰 The Maximalist – All in on AI and already unlocking its benefits.

🤫 The Underground – Uses AI discreetly, reluctant to broadcast to colleagues.

😎 The Rebel – Sees AI as a threat and rebels against the AI hype.

🤩 The Superfan – Excited about AI but cheering from the sidelines.

🧐 The Observer – Indifferent to AI, but watching its rise with interest and caution.

Read more about each AI Persona type  or take the AI persona quiz to find out where you fall in the range of AI personas.

Try this AI team-building exercise: identify your team’s AI personas 

Two in 5 desk workers (37%) say their company has no AI policy, and those workers are 6x less likely to have experimented with AI tools compared to employees at companies with established guidelines. 

“One of the issues we saw come up repeatedly in our qualitative interviews with desk workers is that so much of AI use is currently invisible,” says Workforce Lab researcher Marcia Ash. “Desk workers shared that a big part of their hesitation and confusion is that they’re unsure of the accepted norms of how and when it’s okay to use AI.”

Similar to personality or strengths tests for team building, conducting an AI personas exercise with your team is a fun and inviting way to encourage discussion, clarify guidelines and expectations, and identify any blockers holding people back from trying AI. It also sets teams up to learn and share the most helpful and creative AI use cases for their roles and functions.

How to do it: 

1. Invite all team members to take the AI persona quiz.
2. Set aside time for team members to discuss results, either live in a meeting or asynchronously on Slack. Pro tip: leaders should “set the table” by assuring employees that all opinions and perceptions of AI are valid and that there’s no “right” way to feel about AI.
3. Identify common blockers – and set goals to address them. In our interviews with desk workers, commonly cited blockers were fear of being seen as lazy or incompetent for relying on AI, feelings of guilt for cutting corners, and uncertainty around what type of AI tools are permitted. Understanding the biggest issues preventing your people from optimizing their use of AI tools provides more precise focus for your enablement roadmap. Pro tip: consider plotting your own “where to draw the line” chart – you’ll likely be surprised by the varying opinions on your own team!
4. Invite team members to share use cases that they’re most excited about. Pro tip: document your team’s most tried-and-true use cases in your team-level agreements and encourage employees to add their personas to their Personal Operating Manuals.

Go further: three actions to encourage AI adoption

The PET plan: permission, education, training

Workforce Index research shows that clear permission and guidance is the essential first step to foster AI adoption. Education and training are also critical; Only 15% of desk workers say they have the education and training necessary to use AI effectively, while those who are trained to use AI are up to 19x as likely to report that AI is improving their productivity.

“AI training programs don’t have to be a heavy lift,” says Chrissie Arnold, director of future of work programs for Workforce Lab. “We’ve had pretty amazing results from just 10 minutes a day of AI microlearning.” 

AI in public

Seeing how others are using and benefiting from AI tools helps clarify AI norms. Make AI use among your team more visible by creating a Slack channel dedicated to sharing and troubleshooting AI use cases and discussing AI news or by starting each team meeting by inviting people to share their AI learning for the week. 

Leadership should lead the way by regularly sharing milestones in their own AI journeys, modeling that AI experimentation (from the successes to the trial and error) is celebrated and encouraged. 

Make it safe to experiment

To realize the full potential of AI, companies need to create a safe space to experiment. And that depends on trust. 

Teams with high degrees of interpersonal trust are the teams that feel the safest and most supported to try new technologies, including AI. Desk workers who feel trusted by their employers are 94% more likely to have tried AI for work-related tasks. 

For more tips on how to foster willingness to try new ways of working, read An inside look at Slack’s culture of experimentation.