Employees at consulting giant Accenture will need to demonstrate how they use artificial intelligence in their work if they want to move up the career ladder, according to the company’s chief executive.
Speaking on the “Rapid Response” podcast, Julie Sweet, CEO of Accenture, said AI has become central to how the company evaluates performance.
“Today, AI at Accenture is how we do work,” Sweet said. “So if you want to get promoted, you’ve got to do the things that we do in order to operate at Accenture.”
Sweet rejected suggestions that the company’s tracking of AI usage could be seen as coercive, arguing that the shift is comparable to earlier workplace technology changes.
“I don’t think it’s coercion in any sense of the word,” she said, adding that artificial intelligence tools are simply the latest evolution in the workplace, much like the adoption of computers.
The policy is part of Accenture’s push to become an “AI-first” organisation. Sweet said leaders across the company need to understand both the strengths and limitations of the technology in order to reshape how services are delivered to clients.
Following the launch of ChatGPT in November 2022 by OpenAI, Accenture prioritised training for its top leadership. The company’s 50 most senior leaders were given the most intensive AI training so they could grasp its potential and lead broader transformation efforts.
Since then, Accenture has expanded its AI strategy through partnerships with AI developers including Anthropic, as well as a collaboration with OpenAI. The firm has also cut roles that could not be retrained for AI-related work and launched a new business division called “reinvention services”, focused on AI-led transformation.
Not just Accenture
Accenture is not alone in linking AI proficiency to career advancement.
A January report from Cisco found employees recommended for promotion used AI tools 50% more often than those who were not.
Meanwhile, some teams within Amazon have begun including AI usage in promotion documentation. Jamie Siminoff, founder of Ring who returned to Amazon in 2025 to oversee its Blink, Key and Sidewalk businesses, previously told staff that applicants for promotion must explain how they use AI in their roles.
“We’re going to promote based on AI,” Siminoff said in a later interview. “We’re going to promote based on how you’re integrating AI into your job.”