Managers are using AI to write performance reviews – and it shows

ZDNET’s key takeaways

• Managers are increasingly using AI to give direct reports feedback.
• How employees are receiving that is a mixed bag.
• AI fills a support gap in conversation prep.

As AI use ramps up at work, where are the pros and cons, and for whom? New research from professional development firm Highwire shows where AI has entered the feedback loop — and where it’s both a potential problem and a solution for employee development.

Highwire surveyed 1,034 corporate employees on how AI is infiltrating manager-employee relationships. It found that 78% of managers reported using AI to “help draft, edit, summarize, or inform feedback or a performance review” in the last year. Most of those managers, perhaps unsurprisingly, noted that AI sped up the process of prepping that feedback (Highwire told ZDNET it did not ask managers what else they noticed about using AI).

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However, only 16% of non-managerial employees surveyed were told AI influenced their review. Maybe concerns about being perceived poorly for using AI are behind that drop in transparency: an Atlassian study from June found that owning AI use at work backfired.

The details of how managers are using AI for feedback matter here, though. Having an AI tool format or summarize human-written observations, for example, is a different level of intervention than handing AI some performance data and asking it to crank out a review top to bottom. 

As for how that feedback is landing with employees: 54% of those surveyed said feedback “has become more specific and actionable.” But 34% found feedback more generic, and 32% said it was less useful. A third of employees potentially pulling less value from their reviews than before AI entered the picture isn’t minor, even if the majority is finding a benefit.

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The survey also found that “nearly 1 in 4 employees now rehearse difficult workplace conversations with an AI tool.” Highwire frames this as the result of a vacuum: Only 44% of employees reported having their manager’s support to practice a high-stakes conversation or other difficult workplace scenario, far less than the 85% who say practice is key. AI is therefore filling a needs gap for nervous employees.

AI tools to the rescue

The findings about rehearsing with AI are echoed in AI video company Synthesia’s latest release, Sessions. The new feature lets employees practice conversations with one of the company’s AI avatars and get an assessment from an “AI coach” — essentially an automated, scaled version of the one-on-one training managers typically give to employees.

Synthesia told ZDNET that it developed the feature based on feedback from enterprise customers wanting to expand access to those managerial touchpoints without stretching human bandwidth (though the company maintains Sessions is not a replacement for mentorship). For Synthesia customers, a tool like Sessions fills training gaps they couldn’t fix before (though data on how effective those training experiences are for employees remains to be seen). Both Highwire’s take and Synthesia’s investment in Sessions points to a simulation trend at work, with AI playing a greater role in how employees learn.

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Still, the takeaway isn’t far off from other, less-than-desirable AI work trends. Some employees might argue that unhelpful AI-generated performance reviews fall under the workslop umbrella.

Radhika Rajkumar

Senior Editor

Radhika Rajkumar is a senior editor at ZDNET based in New York City. She covers AI, specializing in safety, privacy and security, policy, education, and synthetic media. She also leads ZDNET's newsletter strategy. Radhika holds a Masters in Creative Publishing and Critical Journalism from The New School. See full bio