As enterprises adopt AI agents and digital workers, companies' success may depend on the human-agent ratio and how workflows are managed.
Microsoft released its annual Work Trend Index report, which surveyed 31,000 people across 31 countries and including LinkedIn labor and hiring trends. The report argues that Frontier Firms are emerging that are utilizing digital workers via agentic AI.
According to Microsoft, in the next two to five years most enterprises will be on the way to being a Frontier Firm. Findings of the report include:
- 82% of leaders say they'll use digital labor to expand in the next 12- to 18-months.
- 53% of leaders say productivity has to increase, but 80% of the global workforce said they are strapped for time and energy. Microsoft said its telemetry from Microsoft 365 applications show that employees are interrupted every two minutes by meetings, emails or pings.
- 46% of leaders say their companies are using agents to fully automate workflows and processes.
- 33% of leaders are considering using AI to reduce headcount.
The Microsoft report included new updates for Microsoft 365 Copilot including search, IT governance tools, notebooks and memory and personalization. Microsoft's general theme is that enterprises will be able to procure intelligence on-demand with digital labor.
Research: The Future of Agentic AI: Get Ready to Build Your Own Agents With Ease | Exponential Efficiency in the Age of AI | AI Trends for 2025 and Beyond | 2025 Employee Experience Trends
What caught my eye in the report is how enterprises on the frontier of agentic AI will have to create new roles and upend traditional org charts. After all, where humans sit in the workflow will be critical to success. Some of those roles that are emerging include:
- AI data specialist.
- AI ROI analyst.
- AI business process consultant.
In addition, org charts may be replaced by models where teams form around jobs instead of functions powered by agents and humans. But mixing and matching humans and AI agents will be as much art as science. Roles may blend HR and IT as enterprises try to blend human and digital labor.
Indeed, 28% of managers are considering hiring AI workforce managers to lead hybrid teams of people and agents.
Microsoft noted in its report:
“As agents increasingly join the workforce, we’ll see the rise of the agent boss: someone who builds, delegates to, and manages agents to amplify their impact—working smarter, scaling faster, and taking control of their career in the age of AI. From the boardroom to the front line, every worker will need to think like the CEO of an agent-powered startup, directing teams of agents with specialized skills like research and data analysis. For those ready to expand their scope, it will be a career accelerator—but the data shows that leaders are ahead of employees. Bridging the gap will take more than access; it will require training, oversight, and a new way of working—one that leaders must help shape.”
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