Managing (AI) Intelligence: How Leaders' AI Messages Shape Adoption

New research shows that how leaders talk about AI — clarity, growth framing, and clear expectations — strongly predicts whether employees actually use AI tools and whether companies hit financial goals. Fear-based messages don’t increase adoption, and unclear communication harms results.

Managers should make AI an explicit part of the job, tell a growth-focused story about how it improves work, answer three clarity questions (strategy, priorities, how-to), and align signals like budgets and behaviors with their message.