Much of the conversation about AI at work centers on adoption, meaning who is using it and how fast it is spreading. The data we’ve collected over the past year points to a different question, which is whether employees trust the way their organization is handling it. This post draws on the 2026 Perceptyx Benchmark Database, which includes more than 23 million responses from 490 organizations in 113 countries, along with our 2026 Workforce Panel and our 2025 research on generative AI, both of which surveyed employees across North America and Europe.
Most employees see the upside, with 67% believing AI will help their organization stay competitive and 63% saying it lets them focus on more meaningful work. However, few feel ready to act on that belief. Only 33% say they are well prepared to use AI tools in their daily work, and just 31% say their organization has a clear plan for increasing adoption.
Compared to readiness, trust is more mixed. In the 2026 Workforce Panel, 56% of employees trust their organization to use AI responsibly, but the practices that would back that up are less visible: only 49% say their organization is transparent about how AI tools are used, and 46% say clear ethical guidelines are in place.
Employees were wary about fairness in our 2025 research as well, where 60% believed GenAI-supported decisions were fair, while 53% worried about bias or discrimination in them. Heavy use didn’t change that much. Gen Z employees were among the most frequent users and the least likely to trust their organization’s use of it (62%, compared with 72% to 74% for other generations).
In the benchmark, 83% of executives are optimistic about their organization’s future, compared with 63% of individual contributors. The 2025 research showed how that plays out with AI. Executives were far more likely than individual contributors to understand how GenAI tools were chosen (81% vs. 47%) and to feel comfortable raising concerns about them (84% vs. 59%).
That second gap deserves attention. Individual contributors tend to be closest to the practical problems a new tool creates, so when they hold back, leaders lose an early source of information.
Only 55% of employees in the benchmark say change is handled effectively where they work. Those who feel supported in adapting to it are more likely to say that change is handled effectively, and their experience tends to include being heard, being involved in decisions, and understanding the reasons for the change.
Much of that support comes from managers, who are often dealing with the change themselves. In 2025, 81% of managers said GenAI had changed their workload, compared with 59% of individual contributors.This year’s panel found a gap between how prepared managers feel and what employees experience, since 60% of managers feel ready to lead AI-augmented work while only 44% of employees say their manager helps their team adapt to AI-related change.
Where that help does arrive, the numbers look markedly different. Employees whose managers help them adapt are more likely to trust their organization to use AI responsibly (82%, compared with 56% across the full panel) and to be fully engaged (65%, compared with 49%). These are relationships, not proof of cause, and leadership communication and strategy matter too. But the gap is large, and it points to the team level as a place where employees form their view of the organization.
Leaders don't need a complete AI roadmap to act. They can start building employee trust now by focusing on three things:
1. Explain the change clearly. Tell employees what is changing and why. Ambiguity fuels skepticism, especially among individual contributors who are furthest from the decisions.
2. Equip managers with time and context. Managers absorb the largest share of change-related conversations. They need room to talk it through with their teams, not just implement directives.
3. Listen continuously, not only at launch. Ongoing listening shows leaders where employees' experience is diverging from what they expected, before that gap becomes a trust problem.
Employee trust is the degree to which employees believe their organization acts with integrity, communicates honestly, and makes fair decisions. Perceptyx's 2026 Workforce Panel found that 56% of employees trust their organization to use AI responsibly, even though 67% believe AI will help their company stay competitive. That gap shows employees can be optimistic about a technology while still questioning how leadership manages it.
Perceptyx benchmark data shows that employees who feel informed, heard, and involved in decisions are more likely to trust their organization. In practice, that means explaining what is changing and why, giving managers enough context to talk it through with their teams, and listening to employees throughout a change rather than only at the start. The manager relationship matters most: where managers actively help teams adapt to AI-related change, 82% of employees trust their organization to use AI responsibly, compared with 56% across the full panel.
Perceptyx’s continuous listening platform helps organizations see where trust and readiness gaps are forming as AI tools roll out. Learn more about the platform or explore the AI Adoption and Readiness Guidebook for practical steps to support employees through change.