And with only a third of employees believing their organizations have a high level of AI literacy, while nearly two-thirds of executives do, change management efforts are sorely needed, she says.
“When you’re somebody at the top of the food chain, you’ve got the best tools, the best access, the best employees on your team, you have an executive assistant, and when you can see how much you’re able to crunch and process and see and how good the insights are, it is such an eye-opener,” Habib says. “But if you’re an employee and you’re being asked to do AI as a side gig on the weekend as an extracurricular with no incentive, no extra pay, why would you do it?”
Christina Inge, an instructor on AI in marketing at Harvard University, sees the AI disconnect in her business consulting work. “Leaders often believe their AI strategy is effective because they’ve invested in tools or set policies,” she says. “But many employees … are the ones navigating tool limitations, workflow friction, and a lack of practical training or access.”