At Accenture, if you want promotions, you must use AI tools, says the company: Here’s why
Accenture has reportedly begun monitoring its staff’s use of the company’s artificial intelligence (AI) tools and plans to factor that into senior promotion decisions. Guard reported.
The move is part of the company’s broader effort to encourage employees to use AI more actively in their daily work and increase the overall adoption of the technology across its workforce.
Citing an internal email, the report said Accenture’s senior executives and associate directors were informed that “regular adoption” of AI would be mandatory for promotions to leadership roles. Additionally, the consultancy has already started collecting data on senior staff’s weekly logins to AI tools.
Tools to watch include Accenture’s AI Refinery. Featuring a collection of 12 industry broker solutions, AI Refinery aims to help organizations quickly build and deploy a network of AI brokers, according to the company’s website. Additionally, these tools aim to augment the workforce, overcome industry-specific challenges, and increase business value.
Previously, Accenture Chief Executive Julie Sweet said this would “create opportunities for companies to reimagine their processes and operations, invent new ways of working, and scale AI solutions across the enterprise to help drive continuous change and create value.”
The consulting firm’s decision to move aggressively into AI points to a broader industry trend in which businesses are increasingly using machine learning tools to speed up routine tasks and free up resources for other priorities.
Accenture trained 550,000 employees on productive artificial intelligence
Reports show that the Dublin-based group has trained 550,000 of its 780,000 employees in productive AI, with the number rising significantly from 30 by 2022. It has also introduced training for all employees as part of its $1 billion annual learning spend.
The company’s latest move to tie the use of AI tools to promotions comes months after it dubbed its employees “reinventors” in a bid to position itself as a leader in the AI field. Guard Reported in December 2025. However, this move was criticized by many who saw it as an example of corporate jargon. Interbrand’s global CEO Gonzalo Brujó elaborated further, saying that announcing such a large-scale job title change would only create confusion for staff accustomed to knowing the hierarchy and career progression path at Accenture. He added: “I’d have to be careful with that kind of name. I totally understand why they want to do this, but it doesn’t apply to all 800,000 employees. There are geniuses at Apple; they’re truly tech-savvy and very knowledgeable about what they do. And Disney’s dreamers have a call to action to make you ‘dream’.”
Brujó also added that reinventor is a title that only applies to a few people.
CEO Sweet: Employees who cannot get used to artificial intelligence will have to leave their jobs
In September 2025, Accenture’s CEO informed investors that those who fail to learn to use AI in the workplace will be asked to “exit.” The report suggests that older, more senior employees at professional services firms are often reluctant to incorporate AI tools into their work, while younger, more junior staff are more receptive.
Accenture collaborates with OpenAI and Anthropic
Amid growing demand for AI services, Accenture announced partnerships with ChatGPT parent OpenAI and rival Anthropic in December 2025 to tap into this demand.
Accenture Q1 results
Tracking the fiscal year from September 1 to August 31, Accenture reported better-than-expected first-quarter results, driven by demand for its AI-focused services. “I’m very pleased with our $21 billion in new bookings, including 33 customers who booked more than $100 million in three months,” the CEO said.
