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Companies are betting that bonuses will persuade their employees to use artificial intelligence at work.<\/p>\n
French drugmaker Sanofi, fintech Brex Inc. and\u00a0International Business Machines Corp. are among firms that are paying cash, awarding points or\u00a0doling out\u00a0merch to expand\u00a0adoption of AI across their businesses.<\/p>\n
After collectively investing\u00a0billions of dollars into AI systems, companies are facing a human problem: \u00a0some employees are reluctant to use the technology. Many fear using AI will hasten their job\u2019s disappearance, or lack time for training. Others may not want to share their AI tactics, preferring to keep the advantage to themselves.<\/p>\n
UK-based law firm\u00a0Shoosmiths LLP\u00a0is trying bonuses. In April, it\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong>created a \u00a31 million ($1.3 million) bonus pool for about\u00a01,300 of its staff, contingent on hitting\u00a01 million uses of Microsoft Copilot this fiscal year. Firm leaders estimated that if everyone at the firm used Copilot four times a day, they\u2019d comfortably surpass the mark.\u00a0Each eligible employee would receive about\u00a0\u00a3770 ($1,000).<\/p>\n Shoosmiths\u00a0had already held Copilot training sessions, touted successful case studies and tapped influencers from various departments to help get colleagues on board \u2014\u00a0and start getting a return on its considerable investment in the tech. Partners asked themselves what more they could do to drive adoption.\u00a0\u201cThat\u2019s where the bonus came in,\u201d said Tony Randle, the executive leading the initiative.<\/p>\n ADVERTISEMENT<\/p>\n CONTINUE READING BELOW<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Shoosmiths aims to build firm-wide comfort with the technology and reinforce the habit of using it before worrying about whether staff are using AI\u00a0optimally.\u00a0 \u201cOnce we\u2019ve changed people\u2019s behaviors to realize that AI is their go-to, it\u2019s not this dangerous thing sitting in the corner, then we can be far more discriminating\u201d in how it\u2019s applied, Randle said, adding that the firm is on track to hit the year-end goal for Copilot assists.<\/p>\n Cash also is proving to be a powerful incentive at companies trying to spur more innovative uses of AI. San Francisco-based\u00a0Brex, for example, has given\u00a0out more than 225 spot bonuses for AI projects, including quick automations and\u00a0more in-depth workflow overhauls, Chief Operating Officer Camilla Matias Morais said.<\/p>\n Payouts at Brex have ranged from $150 for smaller-scale efforts to thousands of dollars for those with high impact. One of the largest to date went to a team of engineers and operations managers who redesigned the company\u2019s customer onboarding, shrinking it from a days-long process requiring four employees to a task that can be handled in under five minutes.<\/p>\n Rewards for employees who make use of AI come in other forms, too. Winners of an annual AI innovation competition\u00a0at IBM\u00a0receive\u00a0\u201cBluePoints,\u201d redeemable for items such as\u00a0appliances, electronics or\u00a0concert tickets. They are also\u00a0invited to showcase their solutions at company events in Orlando and San Diego.<\/p>\n Workhuman, which operates employee-rewards programs for a wide range of companies, has helped administer rewards for clients including Sanofi, which awards its staff\u00a0points for experimenting with AI,\u00a0according to Workhuman CEO Eric Mosley. The points are redeemable for merchandise and gift cards.<\/p>\n ADVERTISEMENT:<\/p>\n CONTINUE READING BELOW<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n \u201cRecognition is the fuel of trust, and trust is what makes AI adoption possible and scalable,\u201d said Raj Verma, Sanofi\u2019s head of culture, inclusion and experience. By rewarding people \u201cwho experiment and share what they learn, we\u2019ve built a culture that embraces AI as an opportunity, not a threat.\u201d<\/p>\n Some leaders are going a step beyond, and thinking about how to reward employees who use the technology to overhaul \u2014 or even\u00a0eliminate \u2014 their own jobs.<\/p>\n Amanda Kahlow, founder and CEO of 1Mind,\u00a0a startup building AI agents for sales and customer-service teams,\u00a0has been\u00a0giving spot bonuses to staff who identify clever automation opportunities. She\u2019s also weighing a more radical incentive: forward-vesting equity for any employee who automates themselves out of a role.<\/p>\n \u201cThen we\u2019ll find another job for you,\u201d she said.\u00a0\u201cI do like the idea.\u201d<\/p>\n \u00a9 2025 Bloomberg<\/p>\n Follow Moneyweb\u2019s in-depth finance and business news on WhatsApp here.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n