Yahoo Japan has announced that it will require all 11,000 of its employees to integrate generative AI into their daily work routines. The company aims to use AI not just as a time-saving tool, but as a core part of its strategy to double overall productivity by the year 2028.
AI in everyday office tasks
The company plans to begin by automating up to 30% of employees’ daily responsibilities. These include routine tasks such as drafting documents, summarising meetings, conducting online research, managing expense reports, and preparing competitive analysis. Yahoo Japan believes these foundational activities consume significant time and can be efficiently handled by AI tools.
One such internal tool, called SeekAI, has been built to streamline workflows through prompt templates that assist with research, summarisation, and documentation. AI will also be used to generate agendas and proofread reports, freeing up employee time for more strategic decision-making and communication-focused work.
From repetitive work to higher-order thinking
The shift to mandatory AI use reflects a broader ambition to transform how employees spend their time. Instead of focusing on routine outputs, workers are expected to spend more energy on tasks that require critical thinking and creativity. The company envisions a future where AI functions as a co-pilot — not a replacement — empowering teams to be more innovative and less burdened by administrative tasks.
Learning from global trends
While some companies have adopted AI to cut costs by replacing jobs, Yahoo Japan is taking a different route. It wants AI to serve as a support layer. A recent study by Orgvue highlights the risks of treating AI as a human substitute — noting that over half of UK businesses that replaced workers with AI later regretted it.x
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