Accenture's message to senior staff: Use AI or risk losing...

Accenture

• Accenture ties AI tool use to leadership promotions
• Regular AI adoption now required for senior role advancement
• Policy excludes staff in 12 European countries and US government contracts

Did our AI summary help?

Accenture has told senior employees that regular use of its internal artificial intelligence tools will now be a key factor in decisions around promotion to leadership roles, underscoring how central AI has become to the firm’s future strategy.

According to a report by the Financial Times, associate directors and senior managers at Accenture were informed that “regular adoption” of AI tools would be required to progress into leadership positions. An Accenture spokesperson confirmed the report’s accuracy to CNBC, adding that the guidance had been shared via an internal email.

“Use of our key tools will be a visible input to talent discussions,” the email said, according to the FT.

Accenture said the policy reflects its ambition to position itself as an “AI-enabled” organisation, both for clients and employees. “Our strategy is to be the reinvention partner of choice for our clients and to be the most client-focused, AI-enabled, great place to work,” the spokesperson said. “That requires the adoption of the latest tools and technologies to serve our clients most effectively.”

The FT noted that the policy does not apply uniformly across the company. Staff in 12 European countries are reportedly unaffected, as are employees working in Accenture’s division that handles US government contracts, where regulatory and contractual constraints often limit the use of certain technologies.

The move builds on a tougher stance Accenture outlined last year as it reshaped its workforce around AI skills. In September, the company said employees who were unable to reskill in AI-related areas would eventually face layoffs. On an earnings call, Accenture chief executive Julie Sweet said all staff would be expected to “retrain and retool” at scale.

Sweet said around 550,000 employees had already been reskilled on the fundamentals of generative AI, out of Accenture’s global workforce of roughly 780,000 people. “Our No. 1 strategy is upskilling, given the skills we need,” she said, adding that where reskilling was not viable, the company would look to exit roles and hire for new capabilities instead.

In interviews with CNBC, Sweet has argued that Accenture’s early and aggressive push into AI is beginning to pay off, even as many of its clients struggle to move from experimentation to real-world deployment. “Every CEO, board and C-suite recognise that advanced AI is critical to the future,” she said, noting that many organisations are still “not yet AI ready”.

Accenture's AI partnerships 

Accenture has backed that strategy with a series of high-profile partnerships. In December, it expanded its relationship with OpenAI, giving tens of thousands of employees access to ChatGPT Enterprise. It has also partnered with Anthropic to train 30,000 staff on Claude AI tools, including the use of Claude Code for software development.

Separately, Accenture has teamed up with Palantir, enabling more than 2,000 employees to receive AI training using Palantir’s platforms.