History is clear: every technological wave retires some work and creates new, harder problems to solve. 

AI is no exception. The World Economic Forum estimates that 23% of jobs will change by 2027 as the mix of work shifts worldwide. At the same time, investment appetite is rising. In McKinsey’s 2025 workplace report, 92% of companies say they plan to increase AI spending over the next three years. Only 1% considered themselves “mature” in deployment.

AI may be the most advanced tool we’ve ever put in the hands of teams, but it is still a tool. People, working on teams, remain the primary drivers of business success. The new competitive advantage will go to leaders who bring the right people together, unite them under an ambitious vision, and orchestrate a culture where creativity, collaboration, and ingenuity compound.

That’s the leadership challenge in front of us: how do we use AI to build stronger teams? How do we use it to accelerate team-building, amplify purpose, coach in the flow of work, and scale positive reinforcement—without losing what makes work human?

At Bonusly, we believe AI should bring out the best in your teams. Here’s what that looks like: 

Recognition is data. That data sends a signal.

For years, recognition was treated like a perk—a quick thank you that vanishes after it’s sent.

That misses the point. The most effective recognition is rich with data. It names a behavior, a skill, an outcome, and how the work ties to a goal or core value. It feels personal. When you share in the right channels, it shows everyone what “good” looks like. High-quality recognition like this is consistently linked with higher engagement, productivity, and retention.

This is where AI adds value—not by writing messages for you, but by turning those moments into an actionable signal. When recognition references a key project, collaborator, timeline, skill, and outcome, AI can parse and route that data. Doing so can help managers coach more effectively, show teams what behaviors matter, and give individuals clearer paths for growth. 

Zoom out, and patterns appear. Who reliably unblocks work? Which cross-team connections speed up execution? Where do handoffs keep slipping? Visibility into those patterns can support all types of decisions your managers need to make.

And that visibility isn’t just for managers. With the right systems in place, recognition has a longer shelf life. It can populate 1:1s, inform reminders, and show up in performance recaps so that every member of your team feels seen and stays motivated. 

Better visibility translates to better recognition—and more of it—ultimately empowers everyone to succeed.

Your culture is already generating continuous insights

AI has our eyes trained on the future, but most companies still make decisions using yesterday’s data. In one-on-ones, managers get selective updates. In surveys, HR spends more time analyzing results than acting on them. In reviews, employees hear an incomplete retelling of feedback from months ago.

None of that improves the work happening today.

When you treat recognition as data, you get a live view of your culture at work: who’s contributing, what’s moving the needle, and where momentum’s building. With AI adding context—project, impact, collaborators, timing—leaders can act earlier and with more precision.

Here’s how it works: Recognition data provides the signal. AI then turns that into actionable insight managers can use to keep their teams fully engaged. When you run that loop consistently, as part of your team’s regular workflow, team engagement and performance efforts shift from a quarterly scramble to a daily routine. 

The business case is straightforward. Gallup’s latest data shows that teams in the top quartile of engagement achieve 23% higher profitability than those in the bottom quartile.

Becoming AI first, but human always

Executives talk a lot about efficiency, growth, and performance. None of those show up without engaged teams. And that means authenticity is non-negotiable.

It’s fair to worry that AI could make work feel less human. Here’s the line we draw: AI’s job is to be right; people’s job is to be wise. Let AI detect signals, add context, summarize patterns, and suggest next steps—quickly and accurately. Leave judgment, prioritization, and people decisions to, well, people.

At Bonusly, that’s our standard. We’re using AI to deepen the quality of the signal and widen the field of view so themes that used to take a quarter to spot become visible today. We’re pushing insights closer to where work happens, shrinking the distance between “I see it” and “I did something about it.” 

And we’re staying true to our core values. Meaningful recognition matters. That’s why we won’t replace meaningful praise with autogenerated notes. We use AI to strengthen what is irreducibly human: connection, context, and judgment. 

The road ahead

We’ve always believed in the human power of recognition. Now, we’re giving that power precision. 

The pace of change won’t slow. The companies that win will connect engagement and performance and treat recognition as foundational. Ignore that signal and you leave human capital untapped and performance on the table. 

Embrace it, and you build teams that feel seen, align around what matters, and deliver together.

If you’re curious how this looks in your world—your tools, your cadence, your goals—let’s talk.