Move over Boomers, Gen Z is leading the AI revolution: Microsoft report

Generation Z employees are emerging not just as users of AI, but becoming internal consultants as traditional hierarchies are up-ended in the race to achieve supremacy of the much-hyped technology.

The Microsoft report found young professionals are actively introducing novel AI tools, workflows, and “prompt hacks” to their teams, reshaping organisational operations and fostering a bottom-up innovation culture.

Microsoft Australia and New Zealand chief technology officer Sarah Carney said the whole approach to AI integration was challenging established hierarchies, it was accelerating productivity at MinterEllison to consulting outfit Grant Thornton.

“For this generation, AI isn’t a fleeting trend; it’s intrinsically woven into their daily work fabric, demonstrating a comfort level that allows them to dive in headfirst, exploring new features and experimenting with AI in unprecedented ways,” Ms Carney said.

It comes as companies are continuing to struggle from shifting AI from pilot to production as they seek to determine what the exact return on investment is and eliminate potential risks. Deloitte relied too heavily on the technology in a $440,000 report for the federal government that contained many factual errors and false references. Deloitte will partially refund the government.

“This isn’t a technological change, it’s a cultural change,” Ms Carney said.

“What this (Microsoft) report speaks really nicely to, is that shift in culture that these younger employees are being asked for their opinions. Those opinions aren’t just being asked for, but they’re being indoctrinated across an organisation.

“The stat that really blew my mind is how many of them have built their own agents, which is just incredible.”

 

The research titled, ‘Ctrl + Career: How Gen Z are Redefining Success at Work with AI’ found 78 per cent of Gen Z workers have introduced a new AI tool, workflow, shortcut, or ‘prompt hack’ to their teams, which was subsequently embraced by others. This statistic underscores their pivotal role as ‘internal evangelists’, driving AI-driven efficiencies and fostering a culture of continuous improvement within their organisations.

Ms Carney said these ambitious young professionals are not content with using pre-built solutions. About six in 10 have taken their initiative a significant step further, building or customising AI agents, chatbots, or automated workflows to streamline specific aspects of their jobs.

This phenomenon, dubbed the ‘agent boss’ era in the report, highlights their innate ability to personalise technology and their critical role as co-creators in the next wave of technological transformation. Their comfort with automating and iterating is proving paramount as businesses transition beyond basic automation towards more autonomous and intelligent systems.

This consistent rhythm of sharing allows individuals to build upon each other’s ideas, fostering a collaborative environment where best practices and innovative solutions can rapidly disseminate.

For Jett Potter, a Generation Z consultant at MinterEllison, using AI was a fast ticket to promotion and perform more higher-value work.

“There’s often a big shift from being a junior doing the administrative work to joining senior employees in thinking strategically about how we work with and what we offer clients. I feel like my early in career peers and I get to do more of that now because leaders are engaging with us for our AI skills,” Mr Potter said.

As part of the AI Advisory team, he uses his skills to build custom agents and design courses the firm can present to clients. He recently scoped a short AI training program with practice leads, grouping common questions into modules and pairing real scenarios with step-by-step prompts.

Mr Potter said this brings him into partner and director discussions earlier, where he is invited to provide perspective on new initiatives and ideas for AI, as well as run demonstrations.

Nicole Bradley, national managing partner at private business tax and advisory at Grant Thornton Australia, said she was excited by the level of innovation she’s seeing from the graduate cohort.

“With up to four generations now sharing the workplace, it’s more important than ever that we all stay curious and open to learning – especially about how we can work smarter and innovate together,” she said.

Ms Carney emphasised the importance of creating frameworks that enable this sharing. “If I was a manager, weekly show and tell is the thing I would be implementing, so that you can hear voices across the organisation.”

This article first appeared in The Australian as Move over Boomers, Gen Z is leading the AI revolution: Microsoft report