As AI agents that directly perform tasks beyond simple assistance become widespread, the way people work is undergoing fundamental change. As employees can now use AI agents to focus on high-value work, analysts say that in the AI era, "those who redesign work itself" will emerge as the winners.
Microsoft (MS) held a press conference at its headquarters in Jongno-gu, Seoul, on Wednesday, where it released its annual "2026 Work Trend Index" report containing these findings. The report was derived from a survey of 20,000 knowledge workers across 10 markets who use AI in their work, analysis of trillions of anonymized Microsoft 365 data points, and expert insights.
The report analyzed that as AI moves beyond simple assistance to participate directly in work, changes in work methods are occurring simultaneously across three axes: employees, leaders, and organizations. First, employees were found to be focusing more on high-value work by using AI. Of global AI users, 66% answered that "thanks to AI, they now spend more time on high-value work," and 58% responded that they "produce results at a level that was difficult to create a year ago."
This tendency was more pronounced among "frontier professionals" with advanced AI usage capabilities. Among frontier professionals, the share who said they produce results that were difficult to create a year ago reached 80%. These frontier professionals account for approximately 16% of global respondents and approximately 12% of Korean respondents.
The report also diagnosed that the adoption of AI has made uniquely human judgment capabilities more important. Of global respondents, 86%, and 82% of Korean respondents, answered that responsibility for AI-generated results ultimately lies with humans. The share who responded that critical thinking about AI is important was 46% globally and 40% in Korea.
It is also noteworthy that the more advanced the frontier professional, the more wary they are of AI dependence. The share who said they intentionally perform some tasks without AI to maintain their capabilities differed, at 43% among frontier professionals and 30% among general respondents. The share who said they distinguish the roles of AI and humans in advance before starting work was also divided, at 53% and 33%, respectively.
Cho Won-woo, CEO of Microsoft Korea, diagnosed, "The more AI takes on execution, the greater the importance of human judgment and leadership becomes." He added, "Domestic companies are also moving beyond AI adoption to begin preparing in earnest to innovate their work methods and collaboration structures and connect this to actual performance."
However, AI adoption does not immediately lead to company-wide performance. This is because a phenomenon in which organizations fail to keep up with the pace of individual AI adaptation has also emerged. The report defined this as the "paradox of transition." In the global survey, the share who worried that "they will fall behind if they do not adapt quickly" reached 65%, while only 26% responded that their executives' AI direction was clear.
This gap was more pronounced in Korea. Korean employees' sense of crisis about being left behind by AI reached 78%, but the share who responded positively about their executives' alignment on AI strategy direction remained at 16%. Oh Sung-mi, AI Workforce GTM Director at Microsoft Korea, emphasized, "The biggest factor determining the AI adoption effect that employees feel is the organizational environment and talent policy." She stressed, "AI is not simply a technology; real innovation is achieved only when the entire organization's work system changes."
The role of leaders was also emphasized. In a separate survey of 1,800 global users, when managers directly demonstrated AI usage, key employee indicators for AI acceptance—including feeling AI's value, critically reviewing AI output, and trusting agentic AI—all rose in unison. Based on this, the report analyzed that the factor determining AI performance is closer to the organizational environment than to the individual.
Meanwhile, Microsoft also unveiled its latest product updates, including the launch of a mobile version of "Copilot Cowork," which supports organizations' internalization of AI, and the expansion of its plugin ecosystem.
