Goal Boss Research
Managers get the AI conversation twice as often as their staff
Goal Boss asked 107 full-time employees at US companies of 100 to 2,000 people whether their own manager had talked with them about what AI means for their job. The answer depended on whether they manage people themselves.
72% of managers said their direct manager had talked with them, one to one or in a small group, about what AI means for their job. 36% of non-managers said the same. Managers are being briefed by their bosses at twice the rate they brief their own people.
This is a first look from a small sample, and the limits are set out below. The pattern is large enough that a company rolling out AI should check whether it holds inside its own walls.
Results
of managers have had the conversation with their own manager.
59 of 82of non-managers have had it with theirs.
9 of 25of non-managers say nobody has explained how their work will be judged once AI is part of it.
13 of 25The question, word for word: "Has your direct manager had a conversation with you, one to one or in a small group, about what AI means for your job specifically?" Every respondent answered it about their own manager. A manager who said yes was describing a conversation with their boss, which is why the comparison shows where the conversation stops rather than how the two groups see the same event.
| Answer | Managers (82) | Non-managers (25) |
|---|---|---|
| Yes, more than once | 60% | 24% |
| Yes, once | 12% | 12% |
| No, but leadership has addressed it in general for the whole company | 16% | 48% |
| No, nobody has raised it with me | 12% | 16% |
Percentages are rounded and may not sum to 100. The difference between 72% and 36% is statistically significant (Fisher's exact test, p = 0.002), which means chance alone is very unlikely to produce a gap this size in samples this size.
What staff hear instead
Nearly half of the non-managers, 48%, said leadership had addressed AI for the whole company and nobody had taken it further with them. That is the all-hands message or the company email, and it rarely says anything about a particular person's work.
It is also not the source they want. Asked who should be the first person to talk with them about what AI means for their job, 80% of non-managers named their direct manager. None chose HR.
How work will be judged
The second gap follows from the first. When nobody has the conversation, nobody explains how the work will be measured once AI tools are part of it.
| Has anyone explained how your work will be judged differently? | Managers | Non-managers |
|---|---|---|
| Yes, clearly | 46% | 20% |
| Yes, but only vaguely | 24% | 12% |
| No | 21% | 52% |
| Does not apply; nothing about my work has changed | 9% | 16% |
What the conversations covered
The 68 people who had the conversation were asked what it covered. Most of them were managers, so this describes what senior leaders are telling the managers below them.
| The conversation covered | Share of 68 |
|---|---|
| What I will be expected to do with the time it saves | 69% |
| What parts of my work the tool will take over | 59% |
| What training I will get | 53% |
| A chance for me to say what I think | 47% |
| How my performance will be measured once it is in place | 38% |
| Whether my job is secure | 22% |
Time saved came up most often. Job security came up least, in about one conversation in five, though it came up again and again when respondents were asked what they wish they had been told.
In their own words
Respondents were asked for the one thing they wish someone at their company had said to them about AI and their job. A selection, with spelling and punctuation lightly corrected:
I wished more clarity about the practical aspects of my daily activities. I just got a general intro and vague expectations, and was told that a deeper discussion would follow after having used AI for some time, but this deeper discussion has not taken place yet.
Non-manager, company-wide message only
If we are technically supposed to use it and if we finish more work, are we being assigned extra in return?
Non-manager, company-wide message only
About which part of my job is expected to work with AI and what is not.
Manager, company-wide message only
I wish they had clearly reassured us about long term job security instead of leaving everyone guessing.
Manager, had the conversation more than once
I would be happy to have some transparency about the direction.
Manager, nobody has raised it
Limits of the data
- The sample is small, and smallest where it matters most. 25 non-managers took part. Their 36% has a margin of error of about 19 points either way. The managers' 72% is within about 10 points.
- Respondents work at different companies. The survey compares two groups' rates. It does not pair a manager with that manager's own team.
- These are people who chose to take an online survey. Respondents were recruited through Prolific, a research panel, and paid for their time. People who take surveys about work may be more engaged with AI than the average employee. A second round, listed without mentioning AI, produced a similar conversation rate.
- Three quarters of respondents manage people. The panel skews that way, which is why every result is reported for the two groups separately.
Treat the numbers as a strong signal worth checking, not a national estimate.
What this means for a rollout
Briefing managers is necessary and it is not the same as briefing the company. A manager who has heard the plan still has to turn it into a conversation about each person's work, and few have been given the words, the time or the answers to do it.
You may not be able to promise a job. You can promise that people hear about changes from you before they hear about them anywhere else.
Judgment Day, chapter 9
The check is simple. Ask the people two levels below the leadership team whether their own manager has talked with them about what AI means for their job. If the answer looks like the one above, the plan has reached the managers and stopped. Stop reassuring your team about AI covers what that conversation should contain, and Judgment Day: How to Lead When AI Breaks Everything covers it at length.
Methodology
Goal Boss Research fielded the survey on October 6, 2026 through Prolific. Respondents had to live in the US, work full time for one employer of 100 to 2,000 people, and work in insurance, healthcare administration, legal and professional services, IT services, outsourced business services, or scientific and engineering services performed for clients. Eligibility was confirmed by screening questions inside the survey.
The data comes from two rounds on the same day with the same screening. The first asked the full questionnaire, about nine minutes long. The second, listed under a neutral title, asked only the questions about the employer, the respondent's role, the rollout and the conversation. Both rounds included attention checks. One respondent who finished in under three and a half minutes was excluded. No names, email addresses or employer names were collected.
By industry: IT services 43, healthcare administration 26, legal and professional services 19, insurance 11, scientific and engineering services 7, outsourced business services 1. By employer size: 100 to 249 people 25, 250 to 499 people 23, 500 to 999 people 38, 1,000 to 2,000 people 21.
Cite as: Goal Boss Research, "Managers get the AI conversation twice as often as their staff," 107 US employees, fielded October 2026. goalboss.com/ai-conversation-gap
Questions
Are managers talking to employees about AI?
Mostly to other managers. In an October 2026 Goal Boss survey of 107 full-time employees at US companies of 100 to 2,000 people, 72% of managers said their own manager had talked with them about what AI means for their job. Only 36% of non-managers said the same.
What do employees want to hear about AI and their job?
Which parts of their job the tool is for, what happens to the time it saves, how their work will be judged, and whether their job is secure. Of the people who had a conversation with their manager, 22% said it covered job security.
Who should tell employees what AI means for their job?
Their direct manager, by their own account. 80% of non-managers in the survey named their direct manager as the person who should raise it first, ahead of department heads, senior leadership and HR.
Rolling out AI across a company?
Goal Boss works with leadership teams to put AI to work and make sure the people doing the work know what it means for them.
