Betterworks, the leading performance management software company, today released its flagship 2026 State of Performance Enablement report, The Real ROI of AI: Empowering People to Align, Perform, and Grow. The research highlights a growing challenge for HR leaders: organizations are investing heavily in AI, but most employees are not yet prepared, supported, or aligned to use it effectively—putting business impact and ROI at risk.
The findings underscore a critical truth: AI adoption is more of a people-and-performance challenge than a technology one. Success depends less on the AI tools themselves and more on how clearly expectations are set, how performance is measured, and how employees are supported in their growth and development.
The research shows while 88% of HR leaders agree that AI has changed how performance is evaluated, half are lagging behind when it comes to evolving performance management that accurately reflects AI-augmented work. When AI strategy isn’t connected to everyday work through goals, coaching, and development, adoption stalls and executive ambition fails to translate into results.
“AI is transforming how we work and the very nature of work itself,” said Doug Dennerline, CEO of Betterworks. “But no amount of AI investment will pay off unless we empower the people closest to the work. Performance enablement gives employees clarity, coaching, and connection so that strategy becomes action, and ambition becomes real impact.”
Key findings from the 2026 Betterworks State of Performance Enablement Report:
- Readiness gap: 92% of executives feel ready to use AI, compared with just 51% of employees
- Clarity crisis: Only 8% of employees say their company has communicated a clear AI vision
- Perception divide: 49% of HR leaders rank AI use as a top influencer on employee performance, but only 9% of employees believe AI skills have become more important to their success
- Performance disconnect: 90% of HR leaders say AI has redefined “high performance,” yet only 42% of organizations reflect AI expectations in goals
Human resources leaders are at a pivotal moment to earn credibility in the AI revolution. While AI strategy may be set at the executive level, HR determines whether it translates into meaningful, everyday work. Nearly two-thirds of HR leaders say performance management is essential to preparing the workforce for AI adoption—making performance enablement the most tangible way HR can turn AI ambition into results. By embedding AI expectations into goals, feedback, coaching, and development, HR can prove its value in shaping business outcomes, not just supporting change.
Despite the disconnect, the outlook is still optimistic according to Betterworks’ findings. Employee fear around AI is declining, and willingness to engage is rising. What’s missing is not motivation, but structure: systems that make AI relevant to how people perform, grow, and succeed at work.
Download the full report to explore how leading organizations can bridge the AI gap and enable high performance at scale for AI ROI.
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