When in comes to talent trends, the adoption of artificial intelligence “is no longer the story.”
“Most organizations have moved beyond asking whether employees will use AI,” says KJ Burke.
Burke is the Field CTO of Hybrid Infrastructure at CDW Canada, an end-to-end technology partner for organizations across business and government.
The question now?
“Whether those investments are creating meaningful business value,” says Burke.
CDW Canada this month released a report titled “Canada’s AI Workplace Evolution from Adoption to Accountability.”
The report, which draws data from a survey conducted by Earnscliffe, found that daily use of workplace-approved AI tools rose significantly year-over-year, from 18% in 2025 to more than 30% today.
As AI tools become commonplace and adoption reaches the mainstream, the “next phase of workplace AI” is taking shape, according to CDW Canada.
That phase includes a shift from basic tools performing single tasks to more advanced tools executing complex workflows, which is what is necessary for employers to experience the productivity boosts and returns on investment that they expect from the rapidly evolving technology.
“Agentic AI represents an important shift in how organizations think about AI,” suggests Burke.
Upskilling is also a critical component, according to CDW’s report, with data showing that workers who receive hands-on AI training are twice as confident using AI tools as those who received no formal support.
“The organizations that lead in the years ahead will be the ones that can measure impact, build trust, and reimagine how work gets done by empowering employees to work effectively with AI systems,” Burke posits. “As AI evolves from assisting employees to helping execute work, organizations must invest not only in technology, but also in the skills, governance, and trust required to use it responsibly and effectively.”
Barriers do persist and include a lack of trust in the accuracy and concerns around the accountability of AI tools, but data shows that “employee attitudes toward AI continue to trend positively,” with “curiosity” remaining the dominant sentiment among workers.
“The challenge for organizations is no longer generating interest in AI,” argues Ashley Otto, who functions as Senior Product Manager for CDW Canada. “It’s helping employees trust the technology enough to use it confidently and effectively; that requires clear governance, practical use cases, and ongoing education.”
Compared to 2025, a higher number of employees with access to AI at work report improvements in productivity and innovation, though very few organizations currently have any sort of framework to properly quantify these purported improvements.
“Most organizations can tell you how many employees have access to AI,” says Burke. “Far fewer can clearly demonstrate what AI has changed for their business.”
“We’re entering an accountability phase where success will be defined not by access or experimentation, but by an organization’s ability to prove value and sustain results,” Burke believes.
