A Host of New, Nifty AI Work Tools

Outside of ChatGPT, artificial intelligence has been mostly all talk for many workers. An excessive number of new tools for the workplace have been clunky and inaccurate.

That could be changing rather quickly. For a key piece of information or data at just the right time, knowledge workers are increasingly turning to cutting-edge pens, pins, glasses, and apps. Indeed, 75% of employees are using AI at work, according to Microsoft. In some ways, the tools are already streamlining the reading workers typically have to grind through to get ahead.

The key help these tools provide is preparation, which for decades has drained so many knowledge workers. Still, experts say that leaning on these technologies in the office still carries risks. “Treat them as if they’re very talented interns,” says Bryan Ackermann, managing partner and head of AI strategy and transformation at Korn Ferry. “The big danger is not checking the answers that come back.”

Workplace technology for knowledge workers is at a watershed moment. Gadgets are increasingly untethered from computers. In international business, smart glasses with real-time language translators are a norm. Niche specialists have adopted smart devices in production lines, science labs, and warehouses, where technology is already being deployed for repetitive tasks, such as cameras that “see” ahead and advise employees on what to do next. In factories, smart glasses do double duty as eye protection.

To be sure, wide gaps persist. Smart cameras still struggle to identify and provide information on new scenes or people. Current technologies are unable to accomplish much-needed workplace tasks such as dynamic workforce planning and personalized job searching and matching. Yet suddenly, leaders are visibly embracing—and actually using—high-tech gear in niche scenarios, after years of stashing the latest gadgets at the back of a drawer. “Everything is clunky until it’s not,” says Chris Cantarella, global sector leader in the Software practice at Korn Ferry.

Many of these technologies have novel applications. For example, some smart glasses can function as monitors when connected to a keyboard or pen and WiFi. And smart pens can easily digitize designs, notes, or meeting transcripts—no laptop necessary. Whether or not executives currently use these devices is, at this point, “a matter of personal preference,” says Paul Fogel, sector leader in the Software practice at Korn Ferry. “I haven’t seen a massive productivity boost.”

Experts advise extreme caution around user inputs. Generative AI models are frequently trained on user input: If a leader enters corporate data into an AI tool, the model has free rein to reuse that data when responding to someone else’s prompt. It’s a significant data-security problem. Organizations' own enterprise tools have often found solutions for these issues, says Cantarella, but other technologies have not. It’s a mushrooming problem: 78% percent of employees who use AI at work are bringing in their own tools, according to Microsoft data from May. At the same time, it’s not widely recognized that organizations monitor employees’ AI usage. “I don’t think people have a grasp of what’s going on,” says Cantarella.

And then there are outputs. Earlier this year, a mainstream AI tool attracted the attention of the internet by suggesting that Elmer’s glue could stop cheese from sliding off a pizza. This episode should cause trepidation for anyone who has ever rapidly consulted a generative-AI tool during a meeting, then, without thinking, blurted out its response. “You might just end up with egg on your face,” says Fogel.  

Learn more about Korn Ferry's capabilities around AI in the Workplace. 

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