Microsoft Urges Employees to Embrace In-House AI — Performance Reviews May Reflect Usage

Microsoft Corporation MSFT is now encouraging managers to evaluate employees based on their use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools.

What Happened: Julia Liuson, who heads the division of Microsoft responsible for developer tools like GitHub Copilot, has directed managers to consider the use of internal AI tools as a key factor in assessing employee performance.

In her email, Liuson emphasized the importance of AI in the company’s operations, stating, “AI is now a fundamental part of how we work. Using AI is no longer optional — it’s core to every role and every level.”

Performance expectations at Microsoft vary across teams, and some are considering incorporating a formal metric related to the use of internal AI tools in performance evaluations for the upcoming fiscal year, as disclosed by an anonymous insider.

“AI is now a fundamental part of how we work. Just like collaboration, data-driven thinking, and effective communication, using AI is no longer optional — it’s core to every role and every level,” Liuson wrote in the email.

Also Read: Leaked Data: Huge Pay Gap In Favor Of AI Engineers At Microsoft

This initiative is part of Microsoft’s strategy to address what it sees as a slow internal adoption of its Copilot AI services.

The tech giant’s goal is to increase usage across the board and ensure that those developing these products have a thorough understanding of the tools.

The decision comes at a time when competition in the AI coding services market is intensifying. Cursor recently overtook GitHub Copilot in a significant segment of the developer market, as noted by Barclays. This competitive landscape is also influencing Microsoft’s renegotiation of its vital partnership with OpenAI.

Why It Matters: Microsoft’s new mandate underscores the growing importance of AI in the tech industry. By making AI usage a performance metric, the company is not only promoting the adoption of its own AI tools but also preparing its workforce for an increasingly AI-driven future.

This move could potentially give Microsoft an edge in the competitive AI coding services market.

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