MASSACHUSETTS, UNITED STATES — Employee proficiency in artificial intelligence (AI), referred to as AIQ, has not seen significant improvement over the past year, resulting in productivity challenges, according to Forrester.
J.P. Gownder, Vice President and Principal Analyst of Forrester’s Future of Work team, raises a critical point, stating, “Employers aren’t effectively equipping their employees with the understanding, skills, and ethics needed to thrive in an AI-driven environment.”
Stagnant Skills Hindering Productivity
Gownder emphasizes that despite increased financial investments in AI applications, the essential skills necessary for effective use remain largely unchanged.
The report indicates that the percentage of workers familiar with and able to apply prompt engineering—a crucial skill for leveraging tools like Microsoft 365 Copilot and Google Workspace with Gemini, only saw a slight increase from 22% in 2024 to 26% in 2025.
This stagnation adversely affects theproductivity improvements that organizations aim for with the adoption of these technologies.
When employees lack sufficient AIQ, their use of implemented tools often leads to negative outcomes rather than enhanced efficiency.
Forrester highlights that individuals with low AIQ may either abandon these tools altogether or misuse them, resulting in situations where employees must redo work completed incorrectly by AI.
Furthermore, a lack of ability to critically assess AI outputs or make ethical decisions only adds to employee frustration, making it difficult to justify the investments in software licenses already made.
Employers Overlook Upskilling and Underestimate Workforce Fears
There exists a significant gap between the adoption of AI tools and the resources needed to train workers in using them.
Gownder points out that while a significant majority of AI decision-makers report their organizations utilize AI applications, only about half indicate they provide AI training for non-technical staff.
This notion treats AI as a user-friendly solution requiring no specialized skills—an idea that Forrester deems as a misguided expectation that fails to adequately prepare the workforce.
Simultaneously, employee concerns about job security persist and are often fueled by corporate leadership.
Forrester anticipates that very few jobs were actually lost to AI in 2025, and while future job losses are expected, they will not lead to a widespread “job apocalypse.”
The report also notes, “Employee fears are rampant, sometimes driven by public statements made by their own CEOs, who engage in AI washing—blaming financially motivated layoffs on AI influences when it isn’t the case,” which further undermines the essential learning and engagement environment needed to enhance AIQ.
The stagnation in AI proficiency among workers indicates that the future of work will be less about the complexity of the technology deployed and more about employers’ commitment to investing in the human skills essential for effective use.
