Should managers be using AI for difficult conversations?

Managers have a hard time having difficult conversations with workers, and new data from The Predictive Index suggests HR — not generic artificial intelligence (AI) tools — is best positioned to close that gap. 

The Predictive Index's (PI) 2026 AI and People Leadership Survey found 74% of CEOs and business leaders describe their managers as "very confident" handling tough conversations without assistance. 

However, only 20% of managers said they prefer to prepare on their own, without a framework or HR input, and 42% said they know what they want to say but struggle with how to say it.

Blind spots identified in the survey included: 

• delivering criticism constructively (22.8%)

• anticipating an employee's reaction (19.5%)

• staying objective (14.3%)

Just 7% of leaders identified objectivity as a challenge, according to PI. 

"Leaders trust their managers, and that trust isn't misplaced," said Anthony Belluccia, I/O Psychologist at PI. "Trusting a manager and knowing they're set up for a hard conversation are two different things."

Most HR professionals (83%) and people managers (76%) are seeing increasing volumes of conversations on layoffs and redundancies in the past 12 months, according to a previous report.

Can AI tools help with tough conversations?

The PI survey also found 72% of managers say public AI tools help with people conversations, and 44% admit entering employee names or performance details into those tools. 

Only 45% of organizations have a formal written AI policy, even though 68% of leaders worry about employee data entering public AI. 

Joel Pipher, VP of AI Transformation at PI, said generic tools compound the problem. "AI knows nothing about the person on the other side of the table. Same model, same generic answer for every manager who asks," he said.

The survey – conducted in July 2026 among 399 managers and 208 CEOs and business leaders – also found 92% of leaders say tailoring feedback to how each employee receives it is "essential" or "very important". 

Over three-quarters (76%) of managers said behaviourally tailored insights would help them prepare, and 78% said they would trust AI coaching more with validated behavioural insight.

What can HR departments do?

The findings point to a formal, written AI policy as a starting point: with only 45% of organizations governing AI use in people matters, HR can reduce data-privacy exposure by setting clear rules on what may — and may not — enter public AI tools.

The gap between manager confidence and readiness suggests HR build structured coaching resources rather than leave managers to rely on generic advice. Since only 20% prefer preparing entirely alone, coaching guides ahead of performance talks could help the 42% who struggle with delivery.

Since objectivity and anticipating reactions ranked among top blind spots, HR should prioritize training on constructive feedback and perspective-taking, areas leaders were less likely to flag. The near-unanimous appetite for individualized feedback, at 92%, suggests HR evaluate whether manager training accounts for how employees differ, rather than one template workforce-wide.

Here’s how employers can prepare managers for hard conversations with employees, according to experts:

• Make training ongoing, not a one-off. Treat manager training as a continuous practice rather than a one-off session or annual workshop, since hard conversations happen only a handful of times a year and skills fade without reinforcement, according to Jen Allen, senior talent solutions partner at Careerminds.

• Build trust before the conversation is needed. Strengthen managers' contact, recognition and coaching behaviours ahead of time, since trust in a manager is a key predictor of whether an employee will feel safe having a tough conversation with them, according to the Achievers Workforce Institute.

• Don't assume confidence equals capability. Give managers practical support and structured tools rather than relying on how confident they appear, since confidence and readiness are two different things, according to Mark Saddic, senior partner at Careerminds.

“When difficult conversations are avoided, trust erodes,” according to one expert.