Business Leaders Still Primarily Use AI for Simple Tasks, Study from General Assembly and EZRA Finds
Those who have received leadership-specific AI training more likely to use AI more often and more strategically
NEW YORK CITY, NY / ACCESS Newswire / May 19, 2026 / A new survey of more than 500 U.S. and U.K. business leaders found that while they are increasingly confident in their own AI skills, the most common use cases of the technology at the leadership level remain simple tasks like searching for information (69%), summarizing documents (68%) and drafting emails (58%). Strategic applications such as scenario planning (27%), organizational design (27%) and financial modeling (28%) lag far behind. The research was conducted by General Assembly, a global leader in practical AI skills training, in collaboration with EZRA, a leading global coaching and learning provider, both LHH brands.
The study also surfaces a sharp divide between leadership levels. Vice presidents consistently fall behind director-level colleagues across nearly every measure of AI adoption and competence, emerging as a weak link in enterprise AI transformation. Only 58% of VPs feel confident using AI tools without compromising company data (compared to 85% of directors), just 39% have reworked team structures and workflows around AI (compared to 71% of directors), and more than two-thirds (68%) said they don't know what vibe coding, or rapid prototyping with AI tools, is. This implies that VPs are struggling not only with technology, but with the human change management required to drive effective adoption.
Role-specific AI training helps leaders use AI more strategically
Nearly four in five leaders (79%) have attended an AI training or taken a course on AI, up from 69% in 2025 and 52% in 2024. Two-thirds (67%) say their company offers a leadership-specific AI training program, up from 55% in 2025, and 88% of those who have access have attended.
Attending a leadership-specific AI training strongly correlates with better outcomes across the board:
96% of leaders who attended such training say their team uses AI tools regularly, compared to 82% overall
88% understand how to use AI without compromising company data, compared to 68% overall
97% feel they have the knowledge to make AI-related vendor decisions, compared to 83% overall
71% have a rubric to assess what good AI usage looks like, compared to 52% overall
89% feel confident they can accurately assess employees' AI competence, compared to 71% overall
Additionally, those who had not attended a leadership-specific AI training were more likely to use AI to draft emails (75%) and less likely to use it for complex tasks like qualitative data analysis (31%) and competitive and market intelligence (19%). They were also less likely (only 19%) to say they had successfully vibe coded something, compared to 49% of those who had attended the training.
Leaders more likely to evaluate employees on AI usage vs. impact
Nearly half of leaders (47%) say AI usage is now factored into employee performance reviews. Among those who do, 62% evaluate contributions to teamwide documentation or processes that use AI, 61% review automated reporting on AI tool usage, 56% consider improvements in KPIs attributable to AI use, and 42% evaluate anecdotes about how employees use AI to become more efficient.
Notably, only 34% of leaders at companies with 10,000+ employees say AI is a factor in reviews, suggesting that larger organizations lag on this front. Additionally, at companies who do not currently factor AI into reviews, 54% of leaders are opposed to doing so.
Leaders are replacing roles with AI, and growing nervous about their own
A third of leaders (33%) say they have eliminated a role or skipped opening one in the past year because they believed AI could do the job. In the software and technology industry, that figure climbs to 52%, while in professional services, it's only 23%. The share who believes AI will replace most or all their employees in the next 10 years grew from 13% in 2025 to 20% in 2026.
At the same time, leaders' confidence in their own job security is eroding. One in 10 (10%) now believes AI is likely to replace their job within a decade, with another 24% saying it's possible. In 2024, 65% of leaders said they did not believe AI would replace them within 10 years-a figure that has now fallen to 56%.
AI adoption surges, but skills gaps widen
Nearly all leaders (93%) say they personally encourage their teams to use AI, up from 76% in 2025 and 60% in 2024. Eighty-two percent say their team uses AI tools regularly, up from 52% in 2024. More than half (52%) have reworked team structures and workflows around AI, up from 40% in 2025.
Yet for leaders not using AI regularly, the most cited barriers are security, privacy or regulatory concerns (49%), a lack of clear use cases (40%), cultural resistance (35%) and lack of leadership prioritization (35%). Notably, 33% now say they don't have the skills needed-nearly double the 17% who said the same in 2025.
Executive Quotes
"Leaders are getting more comfortable with AI, but comfort doesn't equal capability," said Daniele Grassi, CEO at General Assembly. "We often see that companies offering one-size-fits-all AI training have people at the top using AI the same way as interns-to write emails and summarize documents. Those who have received leadership-specific and role-specific AI training are much more likely to pursue transformational, strategic use cases."
"As AI adoption scales, the differentiator isn't the technology itself, but the human skills leaders also need to develop around it," said Nick Goldberg, CEO of EZRA. "Organizations that thrive cultivate four critical leadership behaviors: curiosity to ask brave questions about value creation, discernment to protect quality, humility to adapt when answers aren't clear and connection to share learning across the organization. Leadership development must also focus on these uniquely human skills that determine whether AI drives transformation or just incremental efficiency."
Methodology
The survey included responses from 524 U.S. and U.K. business leaders at companies with at least 100 employees on April 8, 2026. Respondents included directors, vice presidents and chief officers. General Assembly also surveyed this audience in 2024 (380 respondents) and 2025 (271 respondents).
About General Assembly
General Assembly (GA), an LHH brand, is the leading talent and upskilling partner that helps businesses acquire the real skills required to succeed in an increasingly complex technological era. Founded in 2011 to make tech-centric jobs accessible to anyone and meet the demand of fast-growing tech companies, GA evolved into a center of excellence in training people from all backgrounds to upgrade their practical knowledge of tech skills now required in every company and in any role. With a global presence, hands-on instruction, and a passionate alumni community, GA gives learners 360-degree support as they take the next step in their career journey. General Assembly is part of LHH, the professional talent solutions arm of The Adecco Group, the world's leading talent advisory and solutions company. GA matches the right talent to business needs. All day, every day: GA puts real skills to work.
About EZRA
A leading global coaching and learning provider, EZRA, an LHH brand is revolutionizing the way businesses approach employee development by leveraging the power of behavioral science to break down barriers and make professional coaching accessible to everyone.
Through its global network of over 2,000 world-class, accredited coaches, EZRA has already helped thousands of companies and teams across 140 countries quantifiably improve performance, employee retention and promotion rates with more than 800,000 sessions delivered. Companies using EZRA today include AstraZeneca, Coca-Cola, General Electric, Kraft Heinz, Microsoft and Spotify.
Established in 2019, EZRA is the coaching arm of LHH, part of The Adecco Group, the world's leading talent advisory and solutions company.
To learn more about EZRA, visit: https://helloezra.com.
About LHH
LHH empowers professionals and organizations to achieve bold ambitions and secure lasting impact through unique advisory services and professional talent solutions.
LHH's full suite of offerings connects solutions, making LHH a single talent partner for organizations. In a rapidly evolving landscape with complex challenges, we create value across the entire professional talent journey. From advising organizational change, to hiring great people, developing skills and nurturing leaders, to advancing individuals to the next stage of their careers, LHH makes talent a competitive edge.
We believe the future of work lies at the intersection of exceptional human care and innovation. Powered by science, technology, and proprietary data analytics, LHH's approach is crafted to align with business strategies and cultures, delivering powerful, sustainable, and measurable impact.
LHH has a team of over 12,000 professionals, across 60+ countries and more than 50 years of experience. As part of the Adecco Group, we bring together global excellence, local knowledge and centralized coordination for thousands of companies and millions of people worldwide.
Core services: Advisory · Recruitment · Tech and Human Skills Development · Career Transition and Outplacement
Industries served: Enterprise, mid-market, and public sector organizations globally.
Website:lhh.com | Phone number: 1-800-611-4544 | Media contact:PR@lhh.com
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Media Contact
Anna Rice
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SOURCE: General Assembly (GA)
This story was originally published May 19, 2026 at 9:12 AM with the headline "Business Leaders Still Primarily Use AI for Simple Tasks, Study from General Assembly and EZRA Finds ."