How AI Is Making Work More Solitary — And What Companies Can Do About It

Daniel Deceuster used to rely on colleagues for a wide range of small and large tasks. Need a rectangular logo converted into a square? He would message a designer. Want a new dashboard built? He would book time with engineers.

Now he opens Claude or ChatGPT and often gets what he needs within seconds. “We’re getting more done than we’ve ever done before,” Deceuster says. But that productivity has come at a cost: he estimates he interacts with colleagues about 50% less than before.

The Quiet Shift: Productivity at the Expense of Connection

Deceuster’s experience is an early sign of a broader shift as AI tools spread through corporate America. "People are increasingly choosing to work alone," says Jessica Reif, an incoming professor of management at Wharton who studies AI’s effects on teams.

Early evidence of strain is appearing. In January, Cisco reported that the company’s most active AI users trusted their teams less than intermittent users — a pattern Cisco linked to heavier users spending more time working independently. "AI can unintentionally create isolation," the company concluded, "when it’s adopted individually rather than collectively." Coaching platform BetterUp has found that some workers who use AI for managerial or mentor-style feedback report lower team coordination, higher burnout and a stronger desire to leave.

"We’re social animals," says Kate Niederhoffer, chief scientist at BetterUp. "Being social is more than fuel. It’s how we survive."

Why This Matters

For all the drudgery and indignities of many jobs, a large part of what made them tolerable — even meaningful — was daily contact with other people. At work we found mentors and confidants, formed friendships (and sometimes romances), commiserated about bad bosses, and pooled brainpower to solve problems. Many of these interactions were incidental: quick questions, hallway chats, or informal check-ins that built trust and kept teams aligned.

AI is starting to replace those incidental interactions. Where past office tools like email, Slack and Zoom made it easier to connect, generative AI can offer instant answers and substitutes for the small collaborations that once kept teams coordinated.

Different Perspectives

Not everyone views this as negative. Some workplaces may benefit from fewer interruptions and reduced conflict. Peter Pang, cofounder and CTO of Creao AI, says that after redesigning workflows so AI agents handle many routine tasks, he’s gone from spending roughly 60% of his time managing employees to about 10%, and relationships among cofounders and engineers have improved because there are fewer arguments over minor issues.

But that overlooks a crucial point: the small, accidental interactions that previously forced connection are often the glue that lets teams work well. They produce goodwill that helps people weather disagreements and they prevent wasted effort and duplication.

Paths Forward: Preserve Connection, Keep the Gains

Experts and managers are already experimenting with solutions that both harness AI’s productivity and preserve workplace social capital:

• Use AI to enhance, not replace, interpersonal work: Workers can use models to draft sensitive messages or role-play difficult conversations, strengthening their ability to engage rather than avoiding it. BetterUp found employees who used AI this way reported more interactions with peers and direct reports a year later.
• Create intentional social time: Teams can schedule check-ins, mentorships, cross-team updates, or regular in-person and virtual gatherings to replace the incidental contact AI removes.
• Redesign workflows collectively: Encourage shared AI adoption and communal processes rather than letting individuals go it alone. Collective adoption preserves shared norms and reduces isolation.
• Measure relational outcomes: Track trust, coordination and employee well-being as well as productivity metrics, then adjust policies to balance both.

Carol-Lyn Jardine, who advises marketing executives on AI, says she can accomplish most work with AI support but still makes a point to talk regularly with her partners to capture cross-client insights she would otherwise miss.

A Strategic Choice for Organizations

The broader challenge for leaders is balancing the immediate productivity gains of a less interdependent workplace with the long-term need for teams that trust and understand one another. After the pandemic, many organizations learned to redesign work to preserve everyday interaction: some brought people back to the office, while others engineered alternatives such as mentorship programs, offsites, and more frequent one-on-ones for distributed teams. Those same approaches can be applied now to counteract AI-driven isolation.

Deceuster compares the current moment to early social media: the technology spread rapidly before its social consequences were fully understood. "We don’t even know what we’ve unleashed yet, or how to effectively use it," he says.

At a time when other social institutions have already weakened, work remains a key place where people connect. If AI takes that last bastion of everyday communal contact, we risk becoming more efficient than ever — and lonelier too.

Author: Aki Ito, Chief Correspondent at Business Insider.