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A Monday.com-commissioned study finds leaders changing performance reviews while taking on more oversight of AI-assisted output, agents and software.
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Monday.com’s 2026 report, based on Nielsen’s survey of 1,701 senior leaders in seven countries, points to a shift from judging only employee output toward evaluating how people use AI and supervise its work. Although 94% are excited about AI’s potential, 78% have changed performance criteria, while only 29% say AI is centrally integrated and 29% say departmental pilots are fully scaled. The findings reflect leaders’ reported views, not measured productivity gains; they suggest adoption is adding oversight and software coordination before organizations have settled on operating practices.
38% say teams already use agents for multi-step workflows; 58% expect to manage more agents than people within 12 months, a forecast rather than a current count.
Agent governance remains unresolved: 52% worry about unrestricted data access, 46% about losing oversight, and 35% about accountability for agent decisions.
Since adopting AI, 57% report using more tools, about 51% say tools are more interdependent, and 48% report decision fatigue over where AI belongs.
A polished assignment is becoming a harder management problem: does it show an employee’s expertise, or the capabilities of their AI tools? A Nielsen survey published by Monday.com on October 21 finds that 53% of senior leaders struggle more to judge original contributions after adopting AI, while 47% spend more time reviewing and guiding team output.
The findings come from 1,701 directors and senior managers across seven countries, surveyed by Nielsen for work-management company Monday.com. Its AI report 2026 captures enthusiasm alongside that extra burden: 94% are excited about opportunities to improve work with AI. These are leaders’ reported experiences and expectations, rather than a direct measurement of how much productivity AI delivers.
The evaluation problem starts with visibility. A finished document can look strong whether it reflects an employee’s knowledge or substantial help from AI. Without knowing how it was produced, managers have less information about the person’s contribution. The report also finds that 34% worry employees could lose important skills through overreliance on AI.
Managers are already changing what counts as good performance. Some 78% have altered their approach to evaluating team members since adopting AI. Traditional measures such as productivity and time management remain relevant, but leaders increasingly consider how effectively employees use AI. Among those changing their criteria, 46% place significantly greater importance on skills.
That includes writing prompts, deciding which tasks to delegate to AI and experimenting with new ways of working, according to TechCrunch’s coverage. AI is entering the assessment process itself, too: 39% of leaders use it to draft performance reviews. Asked about possible bias in AI-assisted evaluations, Monday.com research executive Michal Miller Levi told TechCrunch that companies have yet to work out how to handle it.
AI agents—software that can carry out multi-step workflows—extend the challenge beyond assessing employees. Already, 38% of respondents say their teams use agents for that kind of automation. Looking ahead, 58% expect to manage more agents than people within 12 months. That is an expectation, not a count of teams where agents already outnumber employees.
The work does not end when a task is delegated. Managers still need to check results and intervene when something goes wrong. Data access is a concern for 52% of leaders, who worry about agents operating without sufficient restrictions. Another 46% worry about losing oversight or control of agents’ actions, while 35% fear being held accountable for agents’ decisions.
Leaders saying AI is fully integrated into a central operating system.
Leaders saying AI pilots in their department or team have fully scaled.
Software proliferation adds another management task. Some 57% of respondents report using more tools since adopting AI. TechCrunch also reports that about 51% say their tools have become more interdependent and clustered. Levi said businesses had expected AI to help reduce their software stacks; instead, they face more applications, integrations and employees using AI outside approved systems.
Managers are also spending effort deciding where AI belongs: 48% report decision fatigue from repeatedly making that choice. Monday.com’s report proposes three connected responses. They are recommendations from the study’s commercial sponsor, not evidence that a particular software product resolves the problems:
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