90% of Resource Managers Still Don’t Use AI

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has quickly climbed the agenda in nearly every industry, promising to transform how businesses operate. Yet in resource management, the story looks very different. While the appetite is there, adoption remains surprisingly slow. Our latest survey reveals that nine out of ten resource managers are not yet using AI in their workflows, leaving a significant maturity gap that must be addressed before teams can fully harness AI’s potential.

High hopes, low adoption

Across industries, AI is hailed as a game-changer — automating repetitive work, surfacing insights from data, and enabling smarter decisions. In resource management, however, uptake is lagging.

Our findings show that nearly half of teams are considering adopting AI, but only one in ten are actually using it today. For the vast majority, outdated tools and legacy processes still dominate, preventing them from unlocking the efficiency and foresight that AI promises.

Keep reading: 4 Key Takeaways from Runn's Resource Management Unfiltered Survey

How early adopters are using AI in resource management

Among the small group of early adopters, AI applications are focused on operational and data-driven tasks. These include:

• Resource allocation: Matching people to projects based on availability, skills, and workload.
• Workflow automation: Eliminating repetitive, manual tasks that previously ate into productivity.
• Predictive analytics: Spotting patterns in data, forecasting trends, and enabling faster, more confident decision-making.

These use cases, while powerful, are still only scratching the surface of what AI could achieve for resource managers.

Here are the highlights from our survey:

Proactivity is the great hope for AI  

When asked about advanced AI applications, respondents were most excited by features supporting forward-planning and proactivity. Predictive analytics and automated assignment recommendations were deemed the most valuable, both areas where teams may benefit from greater efficiency but lack the time or headcount to execute effectively.

Organizations using dedicated resource management platforms can look forward to seeing more AI integrated into their existing tools, with intelligent features set to save organizations from the cycle of reactive staffing and project firefighting.

The road ahead

For organizations already using dedicated resource management platforms, the future looks brighter. Intelligent features are increasingly being built into these tools, promising to shift teams away from reactive staffing cycles and toward strategic, proactive resource planning.

But the reality remains: 90% of resource managers aren’t yet leveraging AI. Until more teams close this gap, the promise of AI in resource management will remain just that — a promise. The next few years will be critical as leaders decide whether to keep relying on outdated tools or embrace AI to modernize how they manage their people and projects.

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