Mind the Gap: New Cornerstone AI Skills Study Reveals Half the Workforce is ‘Winging It’ to Learn AI Due to Low Employer Readiness
2,000 US and UK workers show widespread AI use without employer strategy - nearly two-thirds of workers are building AI skills on their own time
SANTA MONICA, Calif.– May 20, 2026 – Cornerstone OnDemand Inc., a global leader in workforce readiness solutions, today released results from a new study that indicates AI adoption is racing ahead of organizational readiness, with nearly half (46%) of employees using AI tools, but reporting no formal training from their employers. In the absence of formal training by their employers, 65% of workers are building skills outside of work to stay personally competitive in an AI-driven workplace.
The study surveying 2,000 US and UK workers on AI adoption and skills at work highlights a profound disconnect in which employees lack clear definitions of AI skills and harbor deep skepticism about leadership’s narrative, with only 1 in 6 employees believing AI will truly augment their jobs. Absent from support, employees say they learn AI on the job through trial and error (47%), deliberately limit their AI use to avoid mistakes (36%), or simply pretend to use it (17%).
The research exposes a critical gap between organizational intent and employee experience. While 75% believe leadership has identified the AI skills needed for business strategy, only 33% report this has connected into actual training programs. Although 65% also say their employer has an AI upskilling plan, only 36% say it is well communicated. Consequently, 56% of the workforce effectively has no clear upskilling path, either due to a lack of formal strategy or poor communication.
“Our findings are a wake-up call for leaders,” said Himanshu Palsule, CEO of Cornerstone. “The workforce is ready and willing to embrace AI, but they are currently doing so without clear direction or adequate training. Organizations must urgently shift from deployment to strategic connection across workforces, defining AI skills at individual role levels and investing in purposeful training that builds both technical proficiency and human judgment.”
Key findings from the study include:
- Leadership Credibility Gaps: Nearly half (47%) of workers using AI are skeptical of what leadership is telling them about AI, citing failures in credibility that it will augment their role (14%), delivery of new opportunities stemming from it (19%), or trust (14% seeing colleagues replaced by AI). Only 16% believe AI will augment their role.
- Invisible Role Transformation: 30% report AI has already transformed their role, either through a formal update of responsibilities for their job (17%) or a complete skills shift (13%) without formal acknowledgment by their employer. Another 20% are expected to use AI with no guidance on how it should impact their role.
- Functional AI Skills: Workers define AI skills by practical application (e.g., completing tasks faster 30%, applying job-specific tools 26%, writing effective prompts 26%), prioritizing these over more theoretical aspects like critical evaluation of AI output (22%), risk management (19%), or reshaping how AI transforms their work (13%). Notably, 1 in 10 workers using AI cannot define what an AI skill means to their job.
- Human Skills Reign: When asked which skills will matter most long-term to their careers, workers prioritize human capabilities like critical thinking and judgment (26%), creative thinking and problem-solving (26%), and resilience and adaptability (23%) far above prompt writing and AI tool proficiency (16%) or technical AI knowledge (12%).
- Willingness Not Readiness: 52% of respondents are receptive to building AI skills at work, but only 21% feel confident and 18% excited. Another 14% are open to it but unsure where to start. Nearly a third (32%) express negative feelings like uncertainty, anxiety, resistance or unfairness.
- Generational AI Response: Younger generations are at the forefront of AI’s impact, experiencing the highest rates of role transformation, with Gen Z (38%) and Millennials (35%) significantly higher than Gen X (27%) and Baby Boomers (17%). They also report the lowest rates of formal training (Gen Z 59%, Millennials 50%, Gen X 38%, Boomers 30%) and hold the highest skepticism towards leadership’s AI narrative (Gen Z 53%, Millennials 51%, Gen X 40%, Boomers 41%).
For more information on the study, check out blog: What A New Employee Survey is Really Telling Us About AI
Learn more about the new Cornerstone Workforce AI™ platform for workforce readiness, launched today and built to power AI that works in service of people, by reading our press release.
Methodology: Cornerstone’s report surveyed 2,000 employed adults across the US (n=1,000) and UK (n=1,000) via Censuswide in April 2026. AI-specific questions excluded respondents who indicated AI is not used in their role (US n=823 | UK n=734).
About Cornerstone
At Cornerstone, we believe in AI that works in the service of people,amplifying their judgment to drive high-performing, future-ready organizations forward. Cornerstone Workforce AI™, the intelligence platform for workforce readiness, brings together workforce and labor market data into a proprietary Cornerstone People Graph™, translating signals into intelligence, targeting learning where it matters, developing critical skills, and surfacing hidden talent. Delivered as an open, enterprise platform across whatever application your people work in every day, Cornerstone Workforce AI is built for scale, security, and trust, with certified AI guardrails. As an industry leader, Cornerstone is helping approximately 7,000 organizations, 140M+ users, across 186 countries build continuous workforce readiness.
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