Digital friction threatens to undermine enterprise artificial intelligence (AI), exacerbating tech problems and having a corrosive effect on employee productivity.
That’s according to a new report from Ivanti, which surveyed over 3,300 IT professionals and end users around the world.
The research draws attention to the widening disconnect between organizations’ perceptions of their digital maturity and the real-world tech challenges faced by office workers and IT professionals.
How digital friction threatens enterprise AI
Digital friction creates cascading problems throughout the organization. Ivanti’s research indicates that just 21 percent of office workers feel AI is significantly improving their productivity.
Meanwhile, the number of workplace tools is exploding faster than employees can master them, yet nearly half of office workers say they’re left to teach themselves how to use new technology, a source of frustration for employees and inefficiency for the business.
For example, among the 93 percent of companies that haven’t banned AI use, only 40 percent have provided training, while another 24 percent plan to offer it soon, Ivanti found.
Failure to address subpar digital experiences places a significant burden on professionals and when digital friction is left unchecked, organizations may face broader productivity plateaus, making it particularly costly, Ivanti warned.
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Digital employee experience is key to AI success
“As organizations accelerate their AI investments, it’s clear that realizing AI’s promise requires a deeper understanding of the employee experience and impact on productivity. Tools that monitor and analyze how employees interact with technology in real time, like digital employee experience (DEX) solutions, offer data-driven insights – revealing workflow bottlenecks and initiating self-healing actions,” said Dennis Kozak, CEO of Ivanti.
By embracing DEX, organizations can take their AI initiatives further and truly empower their workforce, moving from reactive problem-solving to proactive improvement, he added.
“DEX is more than a strategy for improving the employee experience; it’s the engine that embeds AI into company culture, productivity and daily operations.”
Forward-thinking companies will empower employees by providing more self-service tools, training resources and AI-powered chatbots, all of which allow employees to resolve issues quickly.