New report reveals how AI is increasingly treated like humans in the workplace
Employees are showing some form of courtesy when conversing with artificial intelligence (AI) tools, a new report has found, in a further indication that the technology is increasingly recognised as a colleague at work.
Findings released by TripleTen, conducted by Talker Research, revealed that 64% of employees believe it's important to show AI common courtesy.
In fact, 86% of AI-using office workers are saying "please" and "thank you" to the technology at least sometimes, with 27% saying they do it every single time.
TripleTen's findings indicate a variety of reasons behind the growing courtesy extended to AI tools, with one respondent saying it helps generate better results.
"AI is more likely to respond in the correct way when you use words such as 'please.' Even if your prompt is not that great," the respondent said in the report.
Others said they don't want to train AI with "rude" behaviour, and they want it to model their manners.
Nearly a quarter of the respondents (23%) added that they already find it easier to address AI like it was a person.
Among them, 87% said this is because they believe AI can function as an actual personal assistant to them.
"When you watch the data, AI courtesy isn't about the AI – it's about the user. The workers who say 'please' and 'thank you' are the same workers paying attention to tone, context, and specificity, and getting much better results because of it," said Ana Riabova, AI growth expert at TripleTen, in a statement.
"Politeness is a tell that someone has noticed AI is responsive, not just executable."
Treating AI like another human
These results come amid the growing role of AI tools in workplaces, with recent research showing that employees are increasingly turning to the technology instead of their colleagues when it comes to brainstorming or sparking creativity.
TripleTen's findings also show that 64% of employees would likely consider AI to be a coworkers someday, with executives (81%) twice as likely to agree with the sentiment than their staff (39%).
According to the report, leaders are expecting AI to be treated as a human co-worker in a 5.5 years' time.
"AI isn't really a tool – it's a system with what you could call functional emotions, internal patterns that genuinely shape what it produces," Riabova said.
"The most effective users have figured this out: tone, context, and specificity actually change what comes back. The 'please' and 'thank you' aren't superstitions – they're what it looks like when someone has noticed the model is responding to them, not just executing."
AI use is already widespread in workplaces, but adoption remains sluggish in the wake of a disconnect in how the workforce is encouraged to utilise the technology.
The report found that there is an "enablement gap" in how AI is adopted at work.
"C-Suite get encouragement and structured access; staff get the email and not the training," the TripleTen report read.
"Until that asymmetry is fixed, every AI rollout will replicate the existing hierarchy of who is allowed to look smart at work."
