New research reveals a growing divide in how generations and seniority levels experience AI as workers bet their future value on human judgment, experience and creativity
DALLAS–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Oct. 13, 2026–
Nearly two-thirds (66%) of professionals who regularly use AI at work expect the technology to be capable of performing most of their current tasks within five years. Yet just 3% feel replaceable in their current role.
That contradiction sits at the center of Humans Still Required: The New Rules of Work in the Age of AI, new research from RGP (Nasdaq: RGP), a global professional services firm, examining how active AI users are experiencing the transformation of work.
The findings suggest workers recognize how quickly AI is advancing but remain confident that their value extends beyond the current tasks they perform:
- 94% say their professional experience adds value beyond what AI can provide.
- 91% say human judgment and creativity remain essential to their work.
- 84% say AI has increased the value they bring to their organization.
- 83% remain confident about their long-term career prospects.
RGP calls this the Confidence Debt. Workers expect their tasks to change, but they are betting that organizations will create space for their judgment, experience, creativity and relationships to become more valuable as AI takes on more (and different) work.
“Much of the conversation about AI and jobs assumes that if technology can perform someone’s tasks, it can replace that person,” said Jennifer Jones, Chief Strategy & Experience Officer at RGP. “But the AI jobs debate is missing what workers themselves are telling us. The people already using AI expect it to take on most of the work they do today, yet almost none believe that makes them replaceable. They’re making a bet that as AI takes on more tasks, their value will move toward judgment, experience and creativity. The question now is whether employers are redesigning work fast enough to make that bet pay off.”
The Confidence Debt is one of five tensions the study identifies. The other four help to determine whether that bet pays off.
AI is boosting productivity, but also raising expectations
RGP’s study identified the Productivity Tax, which highlights a tension between the efficiency AI creates and what organizations do with the capacity it frees up:
- 73% get more done in a typical week than before using AI.
- 80% say the time AI saves fills with more work.
- 82% say AI has accelerated the pace at which they are expected to work.
- Among respondents who often or always save time with AI, 77% reinvest it in more strategic work, while 49% put it toward more creative work and 48% toward learning new skills.
The findings suggest that simply measuring time saved or output produced may not capture AI’s full return. Organizations also need to determine where AI-created capacity should be reinvested and what business outcomes it is intended to produce.
Gen Z is turning to AI where executives still turn to people
RGP’s study next identified the Lost Apprentice tension, which points to a potential challenge for talent development as early-career workers increasingly use AI to solve difficult problems:
- For complex questions, 51% of Gen Z turn to AI first, compared with 19% of Millennials and 11% of Gen X. By contrast, 65% of C-suite executives turn first to a colleague, while just 7% turn to AI, underscoring the value senior leaders continue to place on human-to-human interaction for complex problem-solving.
- 33% of Gen Z spend more of their workday interacting with AI than with colleagues, more than twice the share of Gen X at 15%.
- 52% of Gen Z say their AI-assisted work reflects their own expertise and judgment, compared with 82% of Gen X.
The findings raise questions about how organizations preserve mentorship and the transfer of judgment and experience when younger workers can increasingly get answers directly from AI.
Leaders are experiencing a different version of AI
RGP also identified an Executive AI Bubble, where AI feels most empowering to the people with the most power over how it is used:
- 98% of C-suite executives have a say in when, how and whether they use AI, compared with 75% of individual contributors.
- 93% of C-suite executives say AI-assisted work reflects their own expertise and judgment, compared with 61% of individual contributors.
- 75% of individual contributors expect AI to perform most of their current tasks within five years, compared with 53% of C-suite executives.
Employees are less confident in how others use AI
The study also identifies an AI Trust Gap. While 63% say they often or always disclose their own AI use, only 47% believe their colleagues do, and just 55% know when and how AI influences decisions that affect them, such as hiring, promotions and performance reviews.
“AI adoption alone isn’t the finish line,” said Jessica Block, Chief AI Officer at RGP. “Leaders need to think about what happens after AI creates capacity, how people continue to develop judgment and whether employees have enough agency and visibility into how AI is changing their work. Those decisions will determine whether AI ultimately expands human value or simply changes the volume and pace of work.”
Despite these tensions, respondents are largely optimistic about AI: 85% say AI is improving their experience at work, 86% feel positive about AI’s role in their professional future and 87% say an employer’s approach to AI matters when deciding where to work.
The full report is available here. For more information about RGP, visit: https://www.rgp.com.
About the Research
RGP surveyed 500 professionals who actively use AI in their work to understand how AI is reshaping the human experience of work. The research was conducted by iResearch Services in August through September 2026.
The study was designed to capture perspectives across organizational levels, industries, company sizes, geographies and generations. Respondents represented eight industries: financial services, healthcare and life sciences, technology, professional and business services, manufacturing, consumer goods and retail, entertainment, and energy. Organizations ranged from $250 million to more than $5 billion in annual revenue, with equal representation across four revenue bands, and 14% of organizations were private equity-backed.
The sample included employees at every level of the organization: 20% senior leaders, including 60 C-suite executives; 20% directors and managers; and 60% individual contributors, ranging from entry-level employees to senior specialists. Participants also represented a broad range of business functions, including technology, finance, operations, marketing, sales, risk and compliance, HR, data and analytics, and consulting.
Geographically, 65% of respondents work in North America, 15% in Asia Pacific, 10% in Europe and 10% in Latin America. Generationally, the sample included Gen Z, Millennials and Gen X, with Millennials representing the largest group.
Importantly, this is a study of active AI users rather than the workforce at large. All respondents use AI for at least 6% of their work tasks. Nearly seven in ten (69%) use AI for 11–50% of their work, while 22% use it for more than half of their tasks. This makes the research a view into the experience of employees already working alongside AI—not speculation about how they might respond to it in the future.
About RGP
RGP (Nasdaq: RGP) has been redefining professional services for 30 years by closing the gap between advice and execution. RGP combines the flexibility of on-demand talent, the rigor of consulting, and the accountability of managed services for faster impact, smarter investment, and lower risk. The firm partners with CFOs and other C-suite leaders across finance, digital transformation, data, and cloud — connecting advisory to execution at global scale.
Based in Dallas, Texas, with offices worldwide, RGP annually engages with nearly 1,500 clients around the world from approximately 35 physical practice offices and multiple virtual offices. As of August 2026, RGP is proud to have served 90% of the Fortune 100 and has been recognized by U.S. News & World Report (2025–2026 Best Companies to Work For) and Forbes (America’s Best Midsize Employers 2026, America’s Best Management Consulting Firms 2025, World’s Best Management Consulting Firms 2025).
The Company is listed on the Nasdaq Global Select Market, the exchange’s highest tier by listing standards. To learn more about RGP, visit: https://www.rgp.com.
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Investor Contact:
Jessica Block, Chief AI Officer and Interim Chief Financial Officer
(US+) 1-214-777-0600
jessica.block@rgp.com
Media Contact:
Kaitlynn Cooney
Walker Sands
RGP@WalkerSands.com
Source: RGP