Headline: Change Management Is Having Its Moment — And AI Is the Catalyst That's Making It Work
The Change Management Moment
Only half of companies have a change management strategy for AI. But that's changing fast. An AWS study found that while only 14% of companies had a change management strategy for AI adoption in 2024, that percentage jumped to 54% in 2025 and is expected to reach 76% by the end of this year . Change management, once seen as an administrative function, is having its moment in the spotlight.
The reason is simple: AI is creating rapid, high-stakes shifts that are triggering ripple effects across businesses . Organizations that fail to adapt their change management strategies risk significantly undermining transformation efforts.
AI as a Force Multiplier
"AI is a force multiplier," said Giulia Sergi, Director of GTM and AI Fluency at Salesforce. "It's already shifting the change manager's role from being really detailed and task-oriented to one where they can think more strategically and proactively" .
This is not theoretical. Change managers are using AI to:
Analyze Data to Map Strategy: "You can upload tons of data into AI tools and say, 'I want you to create a stakeholder analysis based on this information. Tell me what the biggest gaps and highest impact areas are,'" explains Sergi. "In the past, this process could have taken weeks or months" .
Redesign Roles: Stanford's Arvind Karunakaran suggests organizations use AI to map workflows, identify roles, and break roles down into tasks. "Instead of mandating that employees in nontechnical roles learn how to write prompts better, you should figure out the most complex parts of their jobs... and give them the skills they need for those tasks" .
Provide 24/7 Support: Salesforce's change management team has trained AI agents on knowledge articles to answer employee questions autonomously. "Now, I don't have to manage or make sure there's a system in place for people to get answers because it's all autonomous and it's 24/7," says Sergi .
Why AI Matters for Change Management
Traditional change management approaches struggle to keep pace with the speed and complexity of constant evolution. AI helps organizations sense change early and respond in real time rather than relying on static plans .
AI also changes how work is designed, not just how tools are used. Without rethinking roles, workflows, and decisions, organizations often limit AI's impact. Using it in change management pushes leaders to reconsider how value is created and how people and machines work together .
The Future of Change Management
The biggest benefit of AI for change management may be its role as a thinking partner. Sergi uses AI as a brainstorming partner: "I need to be the person that makes the final decisions, but I appreciate having this 24/7 brainstorming partner I can bounce ideas off of and that can share new ways of thinking I otherwise wouldn't have explored" .
Organizations that embed AI into how they manage change are better positioned to adapt with purpose and resilience instead of reacting too late .
Action Items for Your Organization
- Assess your current change management strategy for AI adoption
- Identify where AI can automate routine change management tasks
- Train change managers on AI capabilities
- Build AI-powered knowledge bases for employee support
- Use AI for stakeholder analysis and communication planning
