Lenovo Study: Digital Workplaces Often Not Ready for AI

Eight out of ten IT decision-makers consider the digital workplace to be crucial for companies to successfully implement AI. Nevertheless, only 10 percent have fundamentally aligned their digital work environment with AI. This is shown in the sixth report in Lenovo’s «Work Reborn» study series, titled “The AI-ready workplace”. According to the report, many companies are introducing AI tools but have not yet created the necessary conditions to use them effectively in day-to-day work. To achieve this, the report states, employees, workflows, technology, support, and clear guidelines must all work together.

For the report, Lenovo surveyed a total of 1,200 IT decision-makers in August 2026 from companies with at least 1,000 employees in twelve countries: the U.S., Canada, the U.K., France, Germany, India, Japan, Singapore, Brazil, Mexico, Australia, and New Zealand. While 76 percent of companies list AI transformation among their top IT priorities, only 27 percent have implemented AI on a large scale across various business units.

The use of AI alone is not enough to create a redesigned workplace

According to the report, redesigning the digital workplace means more than just providing employees with AI tools. Companies must also adapt workflows, task assignments, IT support, and rules for AI use so that people and AI agents can collaborate effectively.

Lenovo uses the AI Workplace Readiness Index to assess how well-prepared companies are across five areas: IT architecture, IT operations, trust and security, employees, and business value. Companies that have already comprehensively integrated AI into their business processes score an average of 4.1 points on a scale of 1 to 5. Companies that are still evaluating potential AI applications score 2.7 points.

Performance measurement shows where AI adds value

Only one in ten companies continuously measures how AI affects individual workflows and uses these insights to inform investment decisions. According to the report, metrics such as shorter process times, fewer recurring problems, or better results help identify successful AI applications and enable companies to expand, adapt, or discontinue them in a targeted manner. Simply using AI tools or focusing on the productivity of individual employees was not sufficient for this purpose.

«Every company we talk to asks the same question: How does AI actually benefit us? This is exactly where measuring at the workflow level matters. Have turnaround times decreased? Are recurring incidents decreasing? Are results better? That’s how you can demonstrate where AI adds value,» said Rakshit Ghura, Vice President and General Manager at Lenovo Digital Workplace Solutions.

A Clear Division of Roles Between Humans and AI

70 percent of companies already have programs in place to promote the use of AI. However, only 12 percent measure the use and effectiveness of AI at the employee or team level and use these insights to adjust training, employee profiles, and technology decisions.

The situation is similar when it comes to the distribution of tasks: Companies are increasingly examining how AI agents could change responsibilities, but are less likely to develop fixed models for collaboration between humans and AI agents. The report recommends clearly defining which routine tasks AI agents can take on and where human judgment, creativity, responsibility, and control remain necessary.

How well companies are prepared for AI also depends on where AI applications are run, whether IT support can identify and prevent problems early on, and how the use of AI tools, AI agents, and data is regulated. According to the report, these aspects should be viewed as part of the digital work environment and not as separate modernization measures.

Companies should first assess how well prepared they are for AI in these five areas and then make targeted improvements where the greatest obstacles to their current AI goals lie. This will allow them to adapt the digital work environment to the company’s specific requirements and goals.

«AI cannot reach its full potential in a work environment that is still designed for the pre-AI era. It is crucial to redesign the collaboration between humans and AI and to adapt technology, IT support, and rules to the changing world of work,» says Rakshit Ghura.

According to Lenovo, the observed correlation between preparing the digital workplace for AI and progress in AI adoption does not prove that one is the cause of the other. The findings regarding the measurement of return on investment specifically refer to companies that continuously measure the economic benefits of AI at the level of individual workflows and use these insights to prioritize AI applications.

Source: www.lenovo.com/ch