As AI reshapes marketing, teams looking to gain a competitive advantage must learn how to use these new tools not only quickly, but also effectively. Instead of counting connections or prompts, leaders must recognize and cultivate the small minority of employees whose behaviors with AI actually have an impact.
New research shows that while most employees now use AI, only a tiny fraction are considered truly sophisticated users – and their habits can be learned.
Researchers from KPMG and the University of Texas Business School recently analysis 1.4 million real workplace interactions with AI that took place over several months at the consulting, tax and audit firm.
They found that although 90% of the 2,500 employees studied used AI, only 5% met the researchers’ definition of “highly sophisticated.” These sophisticated users have demonstrated their capabilities through behaviors that can be taught and advocated:
- Just do it. High-performing users have longer, more interactive sessions with more discussion. They use AI frequently and intentionally, switching between models depending on the task at hand.
- Push back and iterate. They assign roles, provide examples of desired outcomes, and treat the LLM as a thinking partner that they guide over time.
- Don’t be afraid of complexity. They delegate complex, multi-step tasks with detailed instructions, constraints, and examples of the desired results.
- Treat AI like a partner. They use AI for brainstorming, analysis and exploration, not just shortcuts. It is telling that informal language and conversational tone often correlate with this more fluent and sophisticated usage.
Zach Kowaleski, assistant professor of accounting at the UT Business School and one of the researchers, sums it up this way: “Frequency: repetition helps. Ambition: ask for more. Persistence: don’t settle for the first answer. Flexibility: play with different models to familiarize yourself with the different benefits they offer.
How to operationalize good use of AI
But the behaviors of those 5% won’t spread organically through an organization, nor will all users eventually become sophisticated with repeated use. It’s not enough to let employees tinker with available tools to encourage “meaningful, value-creating use.” the researchers concluded.
Many leaders still view AI as another software deployment, rather than a change in the way work and thinking happens. In a recent large-scale trialleading media and technology thinker Douglas Rushkoff has compared the current pace of AI-driven change to the societal changes that occurred when humans first developed writing. Non-movable characters – writing!
“You don’t use thoughtful, interactive technology to get answers, or at least you shouldn’t,” Rushkoff said. “You engage with these new media to ask better questions, in a generative practice that sounds much more like the music of Brian Eno than the 19th century ballad with beginning, middle and end. »
In other words, the most valuable use of AI is learning to ask better questions and explore possibilities – exactly what the top 5% are already doing.
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Training is a necessity
Last year, a World Economic Forum survey found that on average, 59% of employees will need additional training to meet changing skills demands by 2030. “Countries and businesses must evolve their strategies to enable collaboration and harness the complementary strengths of human intelligence and technology, or risk slowing growth and being left behind in the next era of the global economy,” according to “The Human Advantage: Stronger Brains in the Age of AI.”
Researchers at UT and KPMG are advocating a few new strategies, including:
- Codify best practices in AI. KPMG has created playbooks, explainers and peer networks that show what sophisticated use of AI looks like in real work.
- Invest in hands-on, scenario-based training. They built training around real customers and internal tasks to build trust and get people to adopt 5% behaviors.
- Set role-specific expectations. They defined what “good work with AI” looks like for different roles and tasks, so employees know to aim higher than basic usage.
The goal is not just to celebrate the 5%, but to design the culture, training, and expectations that transform ordinary AI users into high-impact users.
Key takeaways
- Most employees use AI, but only a small minority use it in a way that creates meaningful impact.
- The most successful AI users treat it as a collaborative partner, not just a shortcut to quick answers.
- Sophisticated use comes from behaviors like iteration, experimentation, and managing complex tasks, not just frequency of use.
- These skills do not spread naturally and require structured training, clear expectations and real-world application.
- Organizations that invest in developing advanced use of AI will outperform those that view AI as just another tool deployment.
AI-generated list
