Accenture trained 550,000 staff members to use AI—now it says promotions hinge on putting that into practice

Consulting giant Accenture just told its associate directors and senior managers that they need to consistently use its AI tools in order to be considered for high-level promotions, according to a recent Financial Times report. 

The Dublin-based company already started monitoring the weekly AI tools log-ins of some of its senior workers this month; and in the end, only those who boast “regular adoption” of the tech will be considered for leadership positions. 

“Use of our key tools will be a visible input to talent discussions,” for leadership promotion decision making this summer, the Accenture email said, according to reporting from the FT.

An Accenture spokesperson tells Fortune that the ultimate goal is to be the “reinvention partner of choice” for customers, and the most “AI-enabled” great place to work: “That requires the adoption of the latest tools and technologies to serve our clients most effectively.”

Accenture’s big AI push: training 550,000 workers to be ‘reinventors’ 

This isn’t the first time Accenture has made company changes to get more AI-skittish employees on board with the tech. 

Just last summer, it was revealed that the consulting business trained 550,000 out of its around 780,000 staffers to use generative AI, including in tools like AI Refinery and SynOps. 

And those who didn’t get on board could face the chopping block; last September, CEO Julie Sweet said Accenture would be “exiting” staffers who cannot be retrained in “the skills we need.” 

The company sees its employees as “reinventors” in the age of AI—so long as they can keep up with new tech-driven work demands. 

But when it comes to the latest policy, staff in 12 European countries, as well as Accenture employees working on U.S. federal government contracts, and some specific joint-ventures, are exempt from AI use being factored into their promotion.

Employers set a new standard: workers need AI skills to succeed 

Accenture isn’t the only employer setting a new AI benchmark for employee promotions.

Last year, fellow consulting giant KPMG announced that bosses will assess employees’ use of AI tools as part of their annual performance reviews, according to Bloomberg. The Big Four company has already been tracking how its workers had been handling AI data from tools like Microsoft Copilot, but now, their tech skills are baked into their upward mobility. Beginning this 2026 performance review cycle, the firm will grade how well staffers have lived up to achieving KPMG’s AI goals.

“We all have a responsibility to be bringing AI to all of our work, and that’s not just the leadership, that is all the way down to our juniors,” Niale Cleobury, KPMG’s global AI workforce lead, told Bloomberg last year. “Now we are taking that a step further by saying: ‘Actually everyone’s objectives at year-end—what are you going to do to bring in AI to your work?’”

Amazon smart-home business Ring also implemented a new tech-driven policy in 2025: all promotion applications at the company must include an explanation of how employees are using AI in their jobs. Its founder, Jamie Siminoff, said the strategy set out to reward “innovative thinking” and stimulate speed and efficiency among its workers. 

The new rule applies to Amazon’s Ring, Blink, Key, and Sidewalk (RBKS) staffers; even those already in management positions were required to showcase how the AI tools are helping them accomplish “more with less,” while keeping headcount the same. 

Meta has also switched up how it evaluates its employees. The $1.64 trillion technology conglomerate will start assessing its staffers’ “AI-driven impact” starting this year, according to an internal memo reported by Business Insider in 2025. The business described it as a “core expectation” starting 2026; now, workers will need to prove that they’ve leveraged AI to succeed in their roles and built tools to improve productivity and innovation. The policy change follows previous reporting that Meta was tracking how much its employees use AI.

“It’s well-known that this is a priority and we’re focused on using AI to help employees with their day-to-day work,” a Meta spokesperson told Business Insider.