Survey Finds Managers Increasingly Turn to AI for Employee Feedback
Highwire surveyed 1,034 corporate employees about how AI is affecting manager feedback. The results showed that 78% of managers had used AI during the previous year to help prepare, revise, condense, or shape feedback and performance evaluations, yet only 16% of non-managers were informed that AI played a role in their review. Workers' views were split: 54% reported that feedback became more precise and easier to act on, while 34% saw it as more generic and 32% considered it less helpful.
Highwire’s poll of 1,034 corporate workers found that 78% of managers used AI in the past year to create, adjust, shorten, or guide feedback and evaluations. Yet just 16% of non-managers learned that AI had influenced their review. A June Atlassian study suggested that admitting AI use at work can carry a reputational cost.
Employees’ reactions varied: just over half said reviews became clearer and easier to act on; about a third found them more generic, and roughly another third less useful. Nearly one in four workers now practice tough workplace conversations with AI. Only 44% said their manager supported such rehearsal, though 85% considered practice important. Synthesia’s Sessions offers AI-avatar practice with an AI coach assessment.
The growing use of AI in performance feedback could reshape trust between managers and staff. Employees may benefit from faster, more structured reviews, but unclear disclosure might make some question whether judgments reflect human attention. Workers who lack managerial coaching may turn to AI rehearsal tools, potentially widening access to practice while raising concerns about dependence on automated assessments. Organizations may need clearer norms about transparency, fairness, and where human judgment remains central.