Shelly Palmer - AI and the new workforce

If you're between the ages of 22 and 39, congratulations—you’re apparently the chosen ones. According to new research from Google Workspace and The Harris Poll, 82% of young leaders are already leveraging AI tools in their work. The study paints a picture of rising leaders who aren’t merely drafting emails or automating tasks with AI—they’re out here making it their career coach, therapist, and maybe even their therapist’s therapist.

This demographic, sometimes awkwardly labeled "Zillennials" (half millennial, half Gen Z), isn’t just tech-savvy—they’re tech-addicted. They’ve grown up swiping their way through life, so it’s no surprise they’re leaning hard into AI. What’s fascinating is how they’re using it—not just to save time, but to look better, sound smarter, and even AI-ing their way into management.

The research is both inspiring and a little terrifying. This crowd doesn’t see AI as a threat to their jobs—it’s a shortcut to their next promotion (or next job). Apparently, while they’re automating the boring stuff, they’re also using AI to learn how to be better bosses, smarter communicators, and (allegedly) more empathetic humans. I don't buy the more empathetic bit, BTW. (OK, Boomer.)

For businesses, this reminds me of the early days of smartphones—when apps and data were not properly orchestrated and it took way too many taps to accomplish goals using a phone. Leading-edge Millennials didn't understand why smartphones didn't just work. Now, they're wondering why AI isn't already everywhere.

History is a pretty good teacher. Zillennials (I really hate this portmanteau) are not the future of work—they are the now. If you’re not thinking about how to align your business with their AI-powered approach to everything, you might as well start drafting your retirement speech with the LLM you have access to on your personal laptop. The rise of AI isn’t the story here—the rise of the AI-enabled leader is. They’re rewriting the rules while too many current leaders are still reading the manual.

As always, your thoughts and comments are both welcome and encouraged. -s

P.S. If you'd like to chat about creating your first synthetic employee, integrating AI into your workflows and processes, or learning more about the latest AI-powered tools and techniques, just reply to this email. I'm happy to chat.