DUBLIN, April 28, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Aon plc (NYSE: AON), a leading global professional services firm, today released its inaugural Human Capital Trends Study, revealing a critical gap at the center of enterprise AI strategies: organizations recognize their people will drive AI success, but they are not investing in their people strategies.
According to the study, 88 percent of employers agree that AI will require their workforce to develop new skills and rank human capabilities such as adaptability, leadership and change management as the most critical drivers of success in the next three years, even ahead of technical skills.
While 73 percent of organizations have already deployed or are piloting AI programs, only 18 percent report that most of their workforce has participated in AI reskilling or upskilling programs in the past year. The gap is most visible where AI strategies are advanced in isolation - without clear alignment to business objectives, operating models or the workforce capabilities required to deliver them.
Only 28 percent of organizations surveyed have hired employees with AI expertise, underscoring a continued reliance on developing talent from within. The result is a disconnect between what organizations know will drive success and how they are prioritizing resources - one that is emerging as a material risk to enterprise value.
"The winners in the application of AI will lead with world-class people strategies," said Greg Case, president and CEO of Aon. "AI represents a historic opportunity for growth, particularly for organizations that approach transformation by integrating people and technology - so they evolve in lockstep. By closing the gap between ambition and readiness, leaders can act with confidence, strengthen long-term resilience and win today and in the future."
Workforce Readiness Is Shaping How AI Performs at Scale
As organizations invest heavily in AI, many are deploying technology faster than they are building the skills, structures and human support needed to make it effective. The study finds that many organizations continue to prioritize short-term efficiency gains over developing the workforce capabilities needed to sustain impact. Eighty percent of organizations cite automating routine tasks as a primary objective for AI; only 35 percent prioritize workforce upskilling and reskilling.
At the same time leaders acknowledge that human capabilities will increasingly determine AI success, 84 percent of employers say human strengths will become more important as automation increases and 37 percent of leaders identify future workforce skills gaps as their top concern over the next five to 10 years. Together, these findings point to a clear misalignment: organizations are accelerating automation while underinvesting in the people required to operationalize it differently.
The study underscores that people risks are business risks. Workforce readiness is a critical factor in translating AI investment into consistent execution. When leaders lack clear expectations and guardrails for how AI is used, or when readiness efforts lag behind deployment, organizations face slower adoption, fragmented decision-making and greater operational and reputational exposure - limiting the performance gains AI is expected to deliver.
"AI success ultimately depends on their people, but most are still investing primarily in the technology. That disconnect is where opportunity is lost," said Byron Beebe, CEO of Human Capital for Aon. "Closing the readiness gap takes a coordinated approach - building skills and confidence, setting clear governance and enabling leaders to guide change - so technology investments translate into sustainable performance and resilience."
Organizations that Operationalize AI Also Invest in Their People
The study also finds that organizations further along in AI deployment demonstrate stronger alignment between their technology and workforce strategy. For example, organizations that have fully deployed AI are more than twice as likely to describe their leadership's commitment to employee wellbeing as strong and visible compared to those who've discussed AI but haven't taken action.
This suggests that the ability to operationalize AI is closely tied to a broader focus on human sustainability, engagement and trust - factors that enable organizations to scale change effectively and sustain performance over time.
Turning AI Investment into Impact
Beyond identifying risk, Aon's Human Capital Trends Study outlines practical actions organizations can take to close the readiness gap and unlock value from AI. These include aligning AI strategy with workforce planning; assessing AI skills and future capability needs and investing in structured, organization-wide reskilling and upskilling strengthening leadership capability to guide change with clear governance and guardrails; and using more mature, connected people data and analytics to make smarter decisions about where to invest. Organizations that act decisively can build more resilient, confident and productive workforces and fully realize the promise of AI.
As AI adoption accelerates, organizations face a clear choice: continue prioritizing technology alone or invest equally in the workforce required to make it effective. Those that close the gap between intention and action by building skills, strengthening culture and enabling leadership will be best positioned to convert AI into a durable competitive advantage.
Read the full 2026 Human Capital Trends Study here.
ENDS
About Aon
Aon plc (NYSE: AON) exists to shape decisions for the better - to protect and enrich the lives of people around the world. Through actionable analytic insight, globally integrated Risk Capital and Human Capital expertise, and locally relevant solutions, our colleagues provide clients in over 120 countries with the clarity and confidence to make better risk and people decisions that protect and grow their businesses.
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