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This episode of The Conference Board’s C-Suite Perspectives podcast draws on findings from its 2026 Reimagined Workplace study, the seventh annual edition of the series, based on surveys of 271 human capital leaders and 333 U.S. workers. While there are several insights from this 28-minute discussion, one finding to highlight is that, using a five-stage AI maturity model, 60% of organizations remain at the two lowest levels of maturity, where experimentation is underway but still limited. Only 11% reported more advanced AI integration at Levels 4 and 5. The researchers found that as AI maturity increases, organizations are more likely to use AI fluency, such as understanding AI capabilities, AI risks and governance, and use cases that can create business value, in promotion and succession decisions. One implication is that as AI becomes more embedded in an organization’s operations and strategic priorities, AI fluency will increasingly become a leadership expectation. Within this context, one question HR and talent leaders can help their organization begin answering: Have we defined what AI fluency means for our organization, and are those expectations clearly communicated to employees before we begin factoring them into hiring, promotion, and succession decisions? The answers to questions like this can inform key aspects of talent strategy and practices in an AI-enabled workplace.
