Accenture is now formally tracking employee logins to its internal AI tools and explicitly linking career advancement to regular usage, according to an internal email and documents seen by the Financial Times. The consulting giant is collecting weekly login data from senior staff and has informed managers and associate directors that moving into leadership requires "regular adoption" of artificial intelligence.
The policy is part of a broader internal campaign to force AI adoption. CEO Julie Sweet told investors in September that employees who couldn't adapt to AI would be "exited," with company language describing workers for whom reskilling isn't a "viable path" as candidates for separation. One key product being monitored is Accenture's AI Refinery platform, which Sweet has heavily promoted to investors.
Accenture has trained 550,000 of its 780,000 employees in generative AI—a massive increase from just 30 people in 2022—and commits $1 billion annually to learning programs. The firm announced partnerships with OpenAI and Anthropic in December 2025 and recently merged its divisions into a single "Reinvention Services" unit, rebranding employees as "reinventors."
The push comes amid growing worker anxiety about AI-driven job disruption. A February 2025 Pew Research Center survey found 52% of U.S. workers are worried about AI's workplace impact, with roughly one-third believing it will shrink long-term job opportunities. ManpowerGroup's 2026 Global Talent Barometer, covering nearly 14,000 workers across 19 countries, found regular AI usage jumped 13% in 2025, but confidence in AI collapsed by 18%.
"Workers are being handed tools without training, context, or support," said ManpowerGroup's VP of Global Insights Mara Stefan. The confidence drop was most severe among older demographics: baby boomer confidence fell 35% and Gen X confidence dropped 25%. Accenture acknowledges that older, more senior staff are more resistant to adoption, hence the login monitoring and promotion incentives.
Contrasting this corporate pressure, startup CEOs at Web Summit Qatar argued AI will transform rather than replace human roles. David Shim, CEO of Read AI, emphasized the "human-in-the-loop" imperative, comparing AI to navigation systems where humans ultimately decide whether to follow directions. Abdullah Asiri, founder of Lucidya, made a crucial distinction: "AI will replace tasks but not roles."
Research from the World Economic Forum projects AI may displace 85 million jobs globally by 2025 but create 97 million new roles. Asiri noted companies now seek "AI-native" professionals who can effectively collaborate with AI systems, though such skills remain scarce in today's labor market.
