Loretta Li-Sevilla, Global Head of Future of Work, Business Incubation, and Design for Services and Circularity, HP.
For years, the conversation about the future of work focused on where we work: home, office or hybrid. But that’s no longer the most important shift. The next evolution is about who we work with.
We’re entering an era where “hybrid” doesn’t just describe location but defines the makeup of our teams: people working side by side with intelligent agents that grasp context, adapt to goals and learn in real time. This is the Era of Intelligence. And it’s changing everything—from workflows and roles to required skills and the very meaning of collaboration.
This transformation is about more than new tools; it’s a fundamental change in how work happens. We’re moving from passive systems to intelligent agents that engage, adapt and act to support human performance. This enables us to work faster and smarter—with machines that understand us.
We’ve progressed from technology as a mere tool (keyboard and mouse) to multimodal, context-aware partners—from automating isolated tasks to real-time workflow augmentation that sharpens decision-making, and from chasing productivity to unlocking true human potential.
Consider a sales rep preparing for a client meeting. Instead of digging through systems, their AI assistant compiles everything they need: past meeting notes, unresolved action items, new product updates and even timely market insights. During the call, the virtual assistant listens in and responds in real time, surfacing key talking points when concerns arise. Afterward, it generates notes, populates task lists and updates the CRM automatically. This isn’t just streamlined work. It’s a smarter, more empowered way of working—one where humans lead and machines elevate every step of the process.
From Tasks To Agentic Workflows
Today’s AI often helps with individual tasks: writing, summarizing and planning. But we’re moving into a future of agentic workflows—interconnected AI agents that can initiate, coordinate and complete complex, multi-step work across tools, platforms and teams. Imagine this: A marketing AI drafts a campaign. A content agent localizes it. A CRM agent deploys it to targeted customers. Each agent hands off to the next, just like a high-performing, cross-functional team.
These workflows aren’t static. They learn, adapt and improve. Enterprises will design not just tools but custom AI ecosystems, unlocking exponential scale even for small teams.
This new class of on-demand digital teammates is already embedded in day-to-day work. AI companions can summarize meetings and recommend next steps. Local AI models can translate in real time and personalize assets across global markets. Sales teams use AI to generate proposals and surface customer insights. Even small businesses are creating their own AI personas with new agentic tools, building everything from recruiting agents to strategy and financial analysts.
This evolution is also giving rise to new hybrid roles that bridge human creativity with AI capabilities. Positions like AI interaction designers, prompt engineers and AI ethics specialists are becoming essential. These professionals focus on designing intuitive interfaces, crafting effective prompts and ensuring AI systems address privacy and bias concerns. As The Economic Times recently reported, “your digital teammates are reshaping jobs,” creating demand for people who can guide and optimize intelligent systems, not just use them.
AI is reshaping workflows, unlocking new efficiencies and sparking new roles—ones that require strategic oversight, ethical judgement and cross-disciplinary creativity. But while this transformation is underway, many organizations are still playing catch-up.
Employees are adopting AI faster than their companies can keep up with. According to McKinsey, generative AI tools are being adopted at three times the pace leaders expect. Our internal data from our Work Relationship Index shows that 69% of knowledge workers say AI makes them more effective, yet only 24% report receiving formal training. That disconnect is more than a missed opportunity; it’s a risk. This is where IT leadership becomes pivotal.
IT As The AI Orchestrator
In the Era of Intelligence, IT leaders aren’t just managing infrastructure; they’re designing the future of work by orchestrating strategy, shaping employee experience and driving AI adoption responsibly.
Today’s IT priorities include:
• Balancing the speed of innovation with governance and security.
• Equipping employees with secure, scalable AI tools.
• Embedding AI responsibly—with transparency, ethics and trust.
According to internal HP Research, based on 227 senior IT leaders in the U.S. we surveyed earlier this year, the majority (75%) of IT leaders are now measured by employee experience, even as 59% say it’s hard to quantify. Their new job? Turning data into insights and systems into collaboration partners.
Work Reimagined: Don’t Just Upgrade, Reinvent
AI shouldn’t just help us do old things faster; it should help us imagine entirely new ways of working. This means rethinking roles, redesigning workflows and redefining the value humans bring to the table.
As AI takes over repeatable tasks, our edge becomes clearer. The most essential skills today aren’t technical; they’re deeply human. Creativity, critical thinking, communication and emotional intelligence are no longer “soft.” They’re power skills, and they’ll define who thrives in an AI-augmented workplace.
The future won’t belong to companies with the most AI features; it will belong to those who integrate technology thoughtfully, invest in people boldly and empower teams to adapt in real time.
This isn’t an optimization moment. It’s a reinvention moment. So, let’s stop using AI to scale the past. Let’s use it to build what’s next.
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