In late April, Microsoft published the latest edition of their annual report, the Work Trends Index. The report examines modern trends within the workplaces and the impact of organisational performance.
Unsurprisingly, for the 2025 report, the emphasis was very much on AI – and specifically AI agents. In their findings, Microsoft have uncovered a significant gap between those successfully implementing AI and those who are not, with an emphasis on preparedness for the working model of the future.
In this blog, we examine the themes of the Microsoft Work Trends Index 2025 and the takeaway lessons you can apply to your business to stay ahead.
What are the challenges facing organisations today?
Microsoft’s reports reflect the impact of business challenges that have been boiling under the surface for some time.
As demand increases and the increased digitalisation brings new possibilities for businesses, many have been left trying to do more with less. This is particularly true against the background of economic uncertainty and emphasis on profit.
This has culminated in a capacity gap, with 53% of leaders saying productivity must increase, but 80% of the global workforce lacking enough time or energy to do their work.
The result is a culture of burn-out, with the index reporting:
- Employees interrupted every 2 minutes by meetings, emails or pings, adding up to 275 interruptions a day
- 60% of meetings are ad hoc rather than scheduled
- Meetings after 8pm are also up 16% YOY
In short, people need to do more than ever before, without gaining the extra time to do it.
The productivity benefits of AI make it a natural solution for the issue. However, access to AI skills remains a problem for many businesses. Research suggests that there is only around half of the skills needed for the AI positions required across the business landscape. Upskilling staff has also been slower, with around 70% of the current workforce needing support.
This lack of skill means that, despite the potential of AI to solve business challenges, it isn’t being adopted optimally to drive performance and ease capacity gaps.
How are Frontier Firms responding?
In the Work Trends Index, Microsoft report the emergence of a new type of organisation which they call ‘Frontier Firms’. These are companies that, rather than following traditional workplace models, utilise on-demand intelligence and a mixture of AI and human resource.
According to the data, Frontier Firms perform better:
- 71% say their company is thriving, compared to just 37% globally
- 55% say they’re able to take on more work (vs. 20% globally)
So, what differentiates a Frontier Firm from the rest?
The answer is their intentions to leverage AI to drive performance. Nearly half prioritise using digital labour (in the form of AI) to drive capacity, with a secondary focus on upskilling their existing workforce.
95% are also considering hiring for AI-specific roles to prepare for the future, compared to just 78% globally. This includes trainers, data specialists, security specialists, AI agent specialists, ROI analysts and AI strategists across core business functions.
In essence, to be a Frontier Firm, you need to proactively be implementing AI through effective tools as part of a thorough strategy that places the right human and digital resource in the right places.
Where does AI fit into the picture?
Generative AI has been a key trend for a few years, even if businesses haven’t been able to build the skill required to leverage it properly. It promises significant time savings, allowing users to quickly generate content, get fast guidance and analyse data.
But with AI agents, the possibilities are even greater. AI agents can autonomously execute tasks, enabling users to automate repetitive tasks and reclaim capacity for higher value work.
More widely, Frontier Firms view AI as an extension of their team, rather than a replacement to fear. When asked why they turned to AI instead of a colleague, respondents cited 24/7 availability, speed and quality and unlimited ideas on demand (28%) as leading reasons. These are all things humans cannot provide (and in some cases are being unrealistically expected to).
By embracing AI, organisations can gain increased capacity and minimise the risk of burn-out on their staff. However, humans will continue to be essential to create and manage these agents. This is why giving them the chance to experiment and upskill is crucial, using appropriate AI tools.
Why do businesses need to act now?
The capacity gap facing organisation is only going to get bigger unless decisive action is taken.
If you aren’t leveraging AI, you’re already falling behind. Nearly half of leaders say their companies are already using agents to fully automate workflows or processes, marking this as the next trend in AI. 81% say they expect agents to be integrated into their AI strategy in the next 12–18 months.
If you don’t move at the same pace, you’ll quickly find yourself edged out by competitors who have done the work and are realising the AI benefits.
Now is a crucial point for change, with AI agents now readily available through tools like Copilot Studio and capacity issues causing disruption.
82% of leaders say this is a pivotal year to rethink key aspects of strategy and operation, with an emphasis on futureproofing their business. This suggests we’ll see more organisations implementing AI and innovation. By making sure it’s the year you pinpoint your AI strategy, you can stay ahead of the changing way of working.
Actionable steps for your business
Given the findings of the Microsoft Work Trends Index, what does your business need to do now to improve performance and become a Frontier Firm? We’ve listed five practical tips to follow:
1. Prepare for AI
The first step to effective AI adoption is preparing your organisation and your data. This means ensuring you have specific processes and policies in place to govern AI usage, such as encouraging staff to use secure tools or outlining ways AI should and shouldn’t be used.
Data preparation will involve ensuring your data is up to date and stored in a central location where AI can access it. You’ll also want to classify your data to ensure that AI only uses what you need it to and reduce the risk of sensitive information being accidentally leaked. Our custom AI blog explains data preparation in more detail.
By putting in the groundwork to prepare for AI now, you can enable staff to experiment and learn safely, driving better output and reducing risk.
2. Embrace AI
It’s too late to ignore AI. If you haven’t already, you must embrace it.
When getting started, consider running a pilot programme comprised of people across the business who are encouraged to regularly use AI. They can then share use cases and successes, helping you to define where AI has the most impact internally and inspire further usage.
We also recommend applying AI to small, genuine problems. This makes it much easier to track the results, with tangible benefits to be gained. It will also enable you to understand the limitations of AI and switch tactics, helping to fuel your future use.
3. Give staff time to explore
There is still a lot of experimentation involved with AI, especially for those who are new to the concept. It’s important to allow staff the time and freedom to apply AI to their work and find out what is most useful.
As people become more proficient in AI, this can ease the skills gap in your business and drive performance. Most crucially, make sure people are sharing their AI uses to inspire others and generate more widespread adoption.
4. Consider AI agents
While many businesses will have some experience with generative AI, agentic AI is a new approach. Fortunately, AI agents are easy to create with Copilot Studio, giving you a chance to experiment with them across your business.
When implementing AI agents, find internal areas of repetitive work that people generally do not enjoy doing. Start with small use cases first, then spend time carefully mapping the actions you need the agent to do to get from the start of the process to the end, considering different possible scenarios.
The more you experiment with AI agents, the better you will implement them.
5. Always learn
When experimenting with AI, or any form of technology, it’s critical to reiterate, reflect and document successes. Long term, this will allow you to develop an AI strategy that is built on proven use cases and evolving needs. It also gives everyone an opportunity to learn and develop their skills.
As you become more confident, you’ll be able to scale AI usage effectively and generate greater results. This is when you will truly begin to become a Frontier Firm.
Get started with AI agents
AI agents are the next leap forward in AI usage that drives productivity and overcomes the challenges your business faces.
By getting started with AI agents now, you can ensure that you are gaining the results rather than getting left behind the competition.
Our guide to Copilot contains everything you need to know to implement agents.
