本文是《Working It》专栏的焦点：AI 代理人正快速改变工作型态。虽然科技业出现大规模裁员成为热门新闻，但 Microsoft 的 World Trend Index 坚称，在 AI 与自动化之下，员工反而可获得更高的工作自主性。Microsoft 在 2026 年以全球 20,000 名使用生成式 AI 的受访者作为样本，并分析其 Microsoft 365 的大规模匿名资料，发现员工往往比管理层更愿意快速导入 AI。

Microsoft 在 Frontier Firm 案例中归纳出三大模式：让每位员工都能使用 AI assistant、透过人机协作放大产出、以代理人重塑业务流程。在这些前沿企业中，43% 的专业人员会有意刻意不使用 AI 以保持思考肌力；这类「frictionmaxxing」在整体受访者中仍达 30%，显示保留人类技能是共识。Gartner 进一步预测，到 2028-2029 年，AI agent 扩散将成为净正向就业创造者，因为它催生 AI 无法承担的新型工作内容。

组织结构仍是落实速度的关键阻力。Microsoft 表示，在采用其 365 系统的企业中，AI 代理人数量同比成长 15 倍，大型企业更高达 18 倍；但 Gartner 同时指出，约 80% 正在试行或运行自主 AI 的公司仍在裁员，Helen Poitevin 认为原因是部份领导层把 agent 当作「员工」而非放大人员能力的工具。文末亦补充，招聘面临更高压力：每个职位的应征件数已经翻倍。

This Working It feature centers on AI agents rapidly reshaping work: despite headlines about mass layoffs in technology firms, Microsoft’s World Trend Index argues that AI and automation can give employees greater agency. In its 2026 study, Microsoft surveyed 20,000 global users of generative AI and analyzed large volumes of anonymized Microsoft 365 data, finding that employees are often readier than managers to adopt AI quickly.

From Microsoft’s Frontier Firm cases, three patterns emerge: giving every employee an AI assistant, amplifying results through human-agent collaboration, and redesigning business processes with agents. Among these frontier companies, 43% of professionals intentionally work without AI to keep human judgment sharp; this “frictionmaxxing” pattern remains 30% among all respondents, indicating a broad preference for preserving human skills. Gartner further projects that by 2028-2029, the spread of AI agents will be a net-positive job creator because it generates new forms of work that AI cannot fully absorb.

Organizational design remains the main bottleneck to pace of change. Microsoft also reports that agent counts in companies using its 365 system rose 15x year on year and reached 18x in large enterprises, yet Gartner says around 80% of firms piloting or running autonomous AI still cut headcount; Helen Poitevin argues this happens because some leaders treat agents as “employees” rather than as tools that expand human capability. The article adds that hiring pressure is also rising, with job applications per role having doubled.