Even as AI becomes more accessible to the general public, anxiety about it remains high in the workplace. When business leaders integrate technology without clear and intentional communication, they risk alienating employees in ways that are difficult to reverse.
Even though most employers who made layoffs because of AI have reversed their decisions last year, more than half (53%) of Americans across demographic groups continue to worry that someone in their family will lose their job due to AI. The backlash against AI is spreading further across the country, showing up everywhere from midterm election battles to potentially highly anticipated IPO filings.
Internally, many companies are still making fundamental mistakes when it comes to building trust with employees in preparation for AI adoption, said Jackie Swanson, managing partner at Gartner. “Every organization has a roadmap for AI adoption. Few have an honest plan for what AI will do to their employees, their pace, and their pipeline of future leaders,” she writes on her blog Shelf Life. “Companies that realize that now will build a cultural advantage that will last long after the tools become commoditized.”
The ideal AI communications strategy will vary from company to company, but whether you’re an AI-native startup or a traditional company facing new cultural shifts, trust remains the foundation.
Meanwhile, Ironclad, a contract software company founded in 2014, positions AI as a business accelerator rather than a cost-cutting efficiency. “In efficiency plays, at best you can go all the way down to zero, while acceleration plays can go to infinity,” said Sunita Verma, Chief Technology Officer at Ironclad (ex-Character.AI and Google).
“The message to us was very clear that it is important to upgrade your skill set and improve the skills of your team,” Verma added. “We asked people to take a course. I taught a class.[We]encouraged a lot of peer learning.” Perhaps most importantly, she added, build trust by being transparent about both the promises and pitfalls of AI tools. This type of candid, experienced communication is valuable when it comes from a technician with deep knowledge.
In 2025, Grammarly changed its name to Superhuman after acquiring an AI email app of the same name. While the flagship product was launched in 2009, a consistent rebranding that also began with the acquisition of AI productivity tool Coda (now Superhuman Docs) has definitely transformed the company into an AI-forward endeavor. Still, changes in the company’s behind-the-scenes workflows require a more personalized communication strategy.
“We don’t start with top-down AI commands,” said Kenny Mendes, chief human resources officer at Superhuman, who joined the company as part of the Coda acquisition. “A lot of the success comes from within the team, the people who are really close to the problem area and empowered to acquire new tools.” Giving people permission to access and experiment with new ways of working allows people to identify and solve pain points in their own workflows, he said.
“The responsibility actually lies with the individual teams, so instead of feeling like we’re doing it to cut costs, they’re driving the roadmap,” Mendez added. By simply switching the dynamic, companies can avoid alarming individual contributors and instead encourage them to do better, and perhaps more enjoyable, work.
California-based flavored syrup maker Torani has maintained a 103-year track record of zero layoffs. Melanie Dulbecco, Torani’s CEO since 1991, said this precedent has created an inherent sense of trust among the company’s more than 500 employees, even as they implement new technology in corporate offices and manufacturing sites.
Still, Trani’s team is taking a “cautious and thoughtful approach” to workflow changes, Dulbecco said. She added that testing pilot projects in stages and giving individuals the opportunity to participate in iterations can increase confidence in all aspects.
Efficiency and acceleration are certainly Torani’s business goals, but neither word is in the lexicon when communicating technology-driven change. Dulbecco said, “Acceleration doesn’t seem all that great to an individual, but how can we make work better, more interesting, and less manual?”
Torani plans to expand its workforce by approximately 30% by March 2027, driven by a $60 million manufacturing expansion. To accomplish this transition, Dulbecco relies heavily on business-minded technology leaders who base every decision on company culture. Part of that culture is actually a commitment to “not eliminating jobs with technology,” Dulbecco said.
According to Software Finder’s 2026 report, 53% of employees are concerned that AI tools will make their roles less necessary, making communicating workflow changes as strategic as the technology integration itself. Even deeper is the fundamental belief that leaders communicate. “People (need) to believe that what they’re hearing has a context that they believe in,” Dulbecco said.
