2026 Future of Professionals: What the data says about the human side of AI

2026-07-08 · Source: Thomson Reuters Institute · Field: Business & Management — Corporate Strategy & Leadership, Human Resources & Workforce Development, Consulting & Professional Services · Depth: Fundamental Awareness, medium

Summary

The Thomson Reuters "Future of Professionals Report 2026," based on a survey of over 1,800 professionals in 62 countries across law, tax, audit, accounting, compliance, risk, and global trade, reveals a significant gap between leadership's AI ambitions and professionals' daily experiences. More than half of professionals with a stated AI strategy find it either invisible or non-existent in their daily work, with 47% citing a lack of tools and 43% insufficient training. This disconnect leads to a "human cost of inaction," with over 90% of professionals experiencing this gap, and one-quarter considering leaving their organization within two years if conditions don't improve, incurring an estimated replacement cost of \$232,000 per employee. This talent flight, particularly among mid-career professionals, also compounds talent risk for early-career individuals by removing experienced mentorship, potentially stretching their development timeline by nearly two years for legal professionals.

Key takeaway

For Directors of AI/ML or VPs of Engineering evaluating AI integration, your organization's AI strategy must be visibly translated into daily operations to prevent significant talent attrition and development setbacks. Actively choose and communicate one of the "Elevate," "Scale," or "Reimagine" AI deployment paths, ensuring it aligns with your professionals' preferences. Prioritize investments in both AI tools and human judgment to mitigate the estimated \$232,000 replacement cost per employee and foster long-term competitive advantage.

Key insights

The disconnect between AI strategy and daily execution creates significant talent retention and development risks for professional services.

Principles

• AI strategy-execution gap is organizational.
• Inaction incurs high human and financial costs.
• Visible strategy drives AI value.

Method

Organizations can deploy AI via three paths: "Elevate" (human-centric), "Scale" (capacity increase), or "Reimagine" (AI-core operating models).

In practice

• Choose and visibly communicate an AI deployment path.
• Align AI approach with professional preferences.
• Invest in human judgment alongside AI tool fluency.

Topics

• AI Strategy
• Professional Services
• Talent Management
• Employee Retention
• Workforce Development
• AI Transformation

Best for: CTO, Executive, VP of Engineering/Data, Director of AI/ML, Consultant

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Editorial summary, takeaway, and curation by AIssential. Original article published by Thomson Reuters Institute.