AON has released its inaugural Human Capital Trends Study, revealing a critical gap at the heart of enterprise AI strategies: organizations recognize their people will drive AI success, but they are not investing in their people strategies.
According to the study, 88% of employers agree that AI will require their workforce to develop new skills and rank human capabilities such as adaptability, leadership, and change management as the most critical drivers of success in the next three years, even ahead of technical skills.
While 73% of organizations have already deployed or are piloting AI programs, only 18 percent report that most of their workforce has participated in AI reskilling or upskilling programs in the past year. The gap is most visible where AI strategies are advanced in isolation — without clear alignment to business objectives, operating models or the workforce capabilities required to deliver them.
Only 28% of organizations surveyed have hired employees with AI expertise, underscoring a continued reliance on developing talent from within. The result is a disconnect between what organizations know will drive success and how they are prioritizing resources — one that is emerging as a material risk to enterprise value and, as such, a critical area for organizational resilience.
“The winners in the application of AI will lead with world-class people strategies,” said Greg Case, president and CEO of Aon. “AI represents a historic opportunity for growth, particularly for organizations that approach transformation by integrating people and technology — so they evolve in lockstep. By closing the gap between ambition and readiness, leaders can act with confidence, strengthen long‑term resilience, and win today and in the future.”
