Approximately 41% of surveyed managers expressed a desire to replace staff with more cost-effective Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools in 2024.

Concurrently, 48% indicated that their companies would experience financial gains if they could substitute a significant portion of their workforce with AI solutions during the same period.

These insights stem from a study conducted by Beautiful.ai, surveying 3,000 American managers, aimed at discerning prevalent concerns amidst AI trends. 

Among the respondents, 66% disclosed utilising AI to enhance workforce productivity or streamline operations.

Although fear of the unknown persists, the inclination among managers to substitute human talents with AI has notably diminished since 2023. 

Presently, only 40% concur that multiple employees could be replaced by AI without disturbance to the team functionality.

“Leadership plays a crucial role. CEOs and management must lead by example, demonstrating a commitment to transparency, fairness, and ethical use of AI,” said  Jason Lapp, CEO at Beautiful.ai.

The research revealed that approximately 62% of managers acknowledge their employees’ fear that AI adoption might jeopardize their job security.

“Ultimately, building trust with employees during AI implementation requires a combination of transparency, communication, empowerment, ethics, and ongoing evaluation,” said Lapp.

Moreover, 64% of the managers perceive AI’s output and productivity to be comparable to or surpassing those of seasoned managers, and 45% view AI as an opportunity to reduce employee salaries as companies will rely less on people.

Notably, nearly every manager is already leveraging AI tools to bolster their productivity, with 64% utilising such technology on a daily or weekly basis. Common applications include project management, content creation, and presentation development.

“As businesses continue to navigate massive layoffs in 2024, less than 50% of managers believe that their business could financially benefit from shifting their resources from employees to artificial intelligence,” remarked Beautiful.ai in a statement.