AI is spreading fast across workplaces. Training doesn't often keep pace

Minnesota companies are pouring time, money and resources into artificial intelligence tools at a dizzying pace, but many are not adequately training employees to use them.

The investment imbalance between tools and training is fueling tension inside workplaces as businesses race to implement AI while employees worry about being left behind.

A recent Deloitte Tech Trends report found 93% of corporate AI investments are for the technology itself, leaving only 7% of budgets for training workers and supporting AI use.

"We are investing in technology but not in figuring out how the technology would be used, who would use it," said Soumya Sen, an associate professor at the University of Minnesota Carlson School of Management.

As a result, few companies have yet to show a return on their AI spending, said Sen, who studies business analytics and machine learning.

The rapid pace of adoption puts pressure on leaders who fear falling behind competitors.

Smaller companies are still exploring how AI fits into their workflows, while larger organizations with deeper pockets are already running pilot programs and deploying the tools en masse. Meanwhile, investors and funders are pushing companies to adopt AI rather than hire more workers.

Sen helped develop the Carlson Analytics Maturity Model to measure companies' AI adoption against industry best practices. He said many organizations are still making decisions from the top down without involving employees who will ultimately use the tools every day.

"Any kind of AI being introduced in the workflow needs to ensure that the end users are the ones brought into that conversation," he said.

That disconnect is something James Holmberg, co-founder of Minneapolis firm Vilas AI, sees frequently while helping nonprofits, government agencies and businesses implement AI systems and train employees.

"Some companies want to just plug this in and get on with things," Holmberg said. "The wrong way is to just think people will figure it out."

Thrivent has offered peer forums, live demonstrations, office hours and team-specific training on AI tools to help employees learn the technology, a spokeswoman said.

The company has focused on using AI to reduce administrative work for financial advisers as it continues expanding its workforce after hiring more than 600 advisers last year and planning similar hiring in 2026.

Since introducing AI tools last year, the company said more than 90% of users have remained active each month.

The tools are used to prepare for meetings, capture notes from client conversations and summarize follow-up tasks. Advisers save about four hours per week on average, the company said.

Austen Wilson's 20-person team held 65% more client meetings last year, while increasing revenue by about 75%, he said.

AI has also changed what qualities he prioritizes when hiring, said Wilson, who is based in Washington state. Instead of focusing mainly on technical expertise, he increasingly looks for people who are "really relational" and "have the heart of a teacher."

The speed of AI adoption is intensifying concerns about job loss. Companies across industries have already announced layoffs tied in part to automation and AI-driven efficiencies.

Experts said job cuts are not inevitable if companies commit to retraining employees for other roles rather than eliminating them.

Mayo Clinic has paired its technology investments with employee training, offering AI fluency courses, hands-on workshops and internal programs where staff can experiment with building AI agents.

Matt Redlon, chair of Mayo's AI program and vice president of digital biology for Mayo Clinic Digital Pathology, said the health system is using AI tools to summarize large volumes of outside medical records, assist with documentation and give clinicians more time with patients.

"What's in the best interest of the patient is that the caregivers in front of them have time to focus on them," Redlon said.

The organization also solicits ideas from employees across the system, including a recent nursing department AI competition that generated hundreds of submissions.

"The technology is changing rapidly and people adapt slowly," Redlon said. "The lubricant between those two things is education and communication."

Holmberg of Vilas AI said many companies are only beginning to seriously grapple with AI adoption.

"The gap between organizations that are building this muscle now and the ones that aren't isn't visible yet. But it's opening," he said. "It's too big to ignore, and hoping people will figure it out on their own is the worst strategy a leader can choose."

This is especially true in regulated industries such as finance and health care, where mistakes can carry serious consequences, Holmberg said.

Many businesses initially see AI as a productivity tool that can speed up daily tasks such as emails, presentations and research, Holmberg said. The adoption becomes more complex once companies begin applying it to internal data, forecasting and decisionmaking.

At Affinity Plus Federal Credit Union, executives began with small pilot programs before expanding AI use more broadly. The company rolled out Microsoft Copilot only after conducting organizationwide training on how to use AI tools, when not to use them and how to verify AI-generated responses.

Affinity Plus also uses AI internally to help customer-facing employees retrieve information more quickly. Employees were involved early in the rollout, helping identify use cases, define success metrics and test tools.

"Shadow AI is real," he said, referring to workers using AI applications without company oversight or guidance. "Employees are using tools on their own, with sensitive data, because the official training didn't meet their actual needs."

He compared the moment to handing everyone a box of matches at once.

"Matches aren't dangerous - they're essential," Holmberg said. "But you don't hand someone a book of matches and hope they figure it out."

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This story was originally published June 9, 2026 at 1:27 AM.