The research, part of a global survey commissioned by TravelPerk, gathered insights from 4,000 business travellers, including 1,000 from the UK. In the UK, employees seem most comfortable handing over administrative tasks to AI, with 61% saying they would use avatars to remind them of deadlines and 54% willing to let AI handle meeting scheduling. These delegations would free them up to focus on more personal, human interactions. However, there is also some interest in allowing avatars to take on traditionally human roles: 29% of respondents said they’d let an AI deliver a presentation, and 14% would even trust it to conduct an interview.

Interestingly, senior leaders showed more willingness to embrace AI decision-making than their junior counterparts. Around 27% of executives said they would allow an AI avatar to make decisions in a meeting, while none of the entry-level employees felt the same. Additionally, UK workers were more hesitant than their international colleagues about allowing AI to speak on their behalf, with only 28% comfortable with an avatar answering questions for them, compared to 44% in the US.

Despite their openness to using AI avatars for some tasks, 92% of UK employees expressed concerns about the technology. The biggest fear, raised by 44% of respondents, was that AI could misrepresent their communication style or personality, potentially harming professional relationships. Though some employees believed AI could increase their productivity (40%), only 27% thought it would lead to shorter working hours, and 21% worried that relying on AI could limit their career growth.

"There is no question that AI is the future, innovative companies including us use it to automate manual tasks so that customer-facing teams can offer a better human experience. We’ve also harnessed the power of AI to build efficiencies throughout our business operations”, said Avi Meir, CEO and Co-Founder of TravelPerk.

“The hype around AI Avatars that it could replace human connection is worrying as I actually think the opposite is true – it should instead increase the need for real life interaction. The real challenge is to integrate AI technology in a way that complements, rather than competes with, the human connection.”

This craving for human connection remains clear, despite a willingness to give responsibility to AI avatars. 38% said doing so would make them more likely to meet people in person, and nearly a quarter (22%) of Gen Z respondents said it would make them go into the office more often.

“At TravelPerk we invest in in-real-life moments to foster trust, genuine connection and belonging within our employee community,” said Felicia Williams, VP of People at TravelPerk. “If you are a leader planning to introduce AI avatars into your workplace, my advice is that you invest time in ensuring your employees don’t feel threatened by it but instead view it as a really useful productivity-enhancing tool and not a human replacement.”

Her top tips for employees who might be nervous about the prospect of AI avatars are:

• AI avatars can never fully replace in-person professional interactions – Future proof your career by developing your softer skills such as critical thinking, communication, compassion and relationship building
• Stay curious and question AI outputs – As AI avatars become part of the workplace, don’t just accept them at face value. Think about how you can best interact with the tool, challenge the output, have an open mind and think about how it can complement your role and help you work smarter, not harder
• Use AI avatars to enhance, not replace your productivity – Approach AI avatars with an open mind and think about how they can make your work day more efficient. Use the technology to focus more on menial tasks that then enable you to focus on more joyful, strategic and creative tasks that drive value in your role

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