Artificial intelligence is now deeply embedded in daily work across industries, yet new research from Harvard Business School suggests its impact depends less on adoption rates and more on how organizations redesign roles, teams and decision making.
Data from Anthropic shows workplace AI use has reached a record high. However, findings from the Digital Data Design Institute at Harvard Business School indicate that widespread deployment does not automatically translate into better outcomes. As businesses accelerate investment in AI tools, many leaders still lack clarity on where the technology genuinely improves productivity and performance.
“Nobody knows those answers, even though a lot of people are saying they do,” said Jen Stave, chief operator at the Digital Data Design Institute, known as D^3.
Recent D^3 research conducted with Procter and Gamble found that individuals equipped with AI can perform at levels comparable to traditional teams without access to the technology. The finding challenges long held views on collaboration, suggesting AI can reproduce some benefits typically generated by group work. According to the study, “AI is capable of reproducing certain benefits typically gained through human collaboration, potentially revolutionizing how organizations structure their teams and allocate resources.”
Yet the research also points to clear limits. When quality and originality are measured, strategically designed AI enabled teams deliver stronger and more innovative outcomes than individuals working alone with AI support. The tools used in the study were not designed specifically for collaboration, indicating further potential as enterprise systems evolve.
For business leaders, the implications extend beyond efficiency. “Companies that are actually thinking through the changes in roles and where we need to not just lean into it but protect human jobs and maybe even add some in that space if that’s our competitive advantage, that, to me, is a signal of a super mature mindset around AI,” Stave said.
Separate experiments conducted with Boston Consulting Group showed that AI narrows performance gaps across skill levels, delivering the largest gains to lower performing employees. Workers in the bottom half of the skill spectrum saw productivity jump by 43 percent, compared with a 17 percent increase among top performers.
While this effect can lift overall output, it also introduces long term risks. If AI handles entry level tasks too effectively, senior staff may delegate less developmental work, potentially weakening future leadership pipelines. The research also found AI use leads to more uniform outputs. “Humans have more diverse ideas, and people who use AI tend to produce more similar ideas,” Stave said, a concern for companies competing on originality and brand differentiation.
The studies also highlight a looming leadership challenge. Managing AI agents requires capabilities not covered by traditional management training. While Stave expects humans to oversee fleets of AI systems, she said organizations are not yet prepared. “You learn how to manage according to empathy and understanding, how to make the most of human potential,” she said. “I had all these AI agents that I was personally trying to build and manage. It was a fundamentally different experience.”
Some technology executives argue junior employees could become managers of AI agents, but Stave urged caution. “We want to see AI giving humans more opportunity to flourish. The challenge I have is with assuming that the junior employees are going to step in and know how to do that right away,” she said.
According to the Harvard research, the companies extracting the most value from AI are those willing to redesign processes and structures rather than simply layering tools onto existing workflows. “It’s very easy to buy a tool and implement it,” Stave said. “It’s really hard to actually do org redesign, because that’s when you get into all these internal empires and power struggles.”
For executives navigating the next phase of digital transformation, the message from Harvard is clear: AI delivers results when it strengthens teams and reshapes organizations, not when it simply replaces people.
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