BCG AI in the workplace study shows junior employees benefit more than their seniors
When it comes to skilling up AI has been shown to help junior employees level up faster than their senior counterparts and catch them up in earnings and skills.
Key takeaways
- The study, published Thursday, involved 758 BCG consultants globally — or about 7% of the company's individual contributor-level consultants.
- The greatest gains were seen by below-average performers using AI, whose average performance improved by 43%.
- Consultants with access to AI performed up to 20% worse when presented with tasks that were beyond the AI's grasp.
Cite or link to this article
Griffin, M. (2023) 'BCG AI in the workplace study shows junior employees benefit more than their seniors', 311 Institute, 2 September. Available at: https://www.311institute.com/bcg-ai-in-the-workplace-study-shows-junior-employees-benefit-more-than-their-seniors/ (Accessed: 1 October 2026).
In a new future of work study conducted at management consulting firm Boston Consulting Group, or BCG, found that consultants who ranked below average in the firm benefitted the most from using Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools like GPT-4 from OpenAI in the workplace, and that more experienced consultants who used them benefitted less well.
The study, published Thursday, involved 758 BCG consultants globally — or about 7% of the company's individual contributor-level consultants. They were divided into two groups: one with access to GPT-4, the model that currently powers ChatGPT, and another group without.
The Future of AI, by keynote Matthew Griffin
Before the experiment, the staffers were tested to gauge their average level of performance, classifying them into "bottom-half" and "top-half" skilled participants. They were then assigned a series of practical consulting tasks for a fictional shoe company and had their performance graded by human and AI raters.
The greatest gains were seen by below-average performers using AI, whose average performance improved by 43%. Meanwhile their above-average counterparts only saw an average performance increase of 17% from using AI.
The study also found that those who used AI completed their tasks faster and produced higher-quality results than those without access. However, it also underscored the risks of over-reliance on AI. Consultants with access to AI performed up to 20% worse when presented with tasks that were beyond the AI's grasp. In these cases, the AI would present misleading yet plausible responses. And that’s an interesting twist in the tail for this story.
The study was conducted by researchers from Harvard University, MIT, the University of Warwick, and the University of Pennsylvania, along with the Boston Consulting Group.
Ethan Mollick, a Wharton professor and a co-author of the study, wrote in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter: "AI worked like a leveller: lower performers had the biggest gains."
Another study — published in April — examined customer service workers at a Fortune 500 company and found that highly-skilled workers saw a "close to 0%" productivity boost with an AI assistant. In contrast, lower-skilled agents saw a productivity boost of 35%.
FAQ
Why does this matter?
When it comes to skilling up AI has been shown to help junior employees level up faster than their senior counterparts and catch them up in earnings and skills.
About the author
Matthew Griffin Founder, 311 Institute
Matthew Griffin is a multi-award winning Futurist and expert in Disruption and Innovation, Geopolitics, Leadership, and Technology, who NASA have described as a "walking encyclopaedia of the future" and a "futurist Polymath."
Read full bio
Matthew Griffin is a multi-award winning Futurist and expert in Disruption and Innovation, Geopolitics, Leadership, and Technology, who NASA have described as a "walking encyclopaedia of the future" and a "futurist Polymath." 15-time best selling author of the "Codex of the Future" series, Matthew is the Founder and Futurist in Chief of the 311 Institute, a global Futures and Deep Futures advisory firm working with royal households, world leaders, G7, G20, and G77 governments, NGOs, and multi-national mid and mega cap firms to help them explore, shape, and lead the next 50 years of business and society.
An award-winning YouTube creator with over a million followers, with an unrivalled global reach and impact, Matthew is a highly sought-after international keynote speaker, lecturer, and mentor who collaborates with global leaders through the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) and United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) to shape pivotal initiatives such as the UN’s AI for Humanity program, the United Nations Conference of the Parties (UN COP), and the World Economic Forum in Davos.
As the former Global Head of Cloud, National Security, and Enterprise Sales for companies including Atos, Dell-EMC, and IBM, Matthew has a proven track record of building multi-billion dollar business units and turning failing divisions into market leaders. His ability to identify, analyse, and communicate the implications of hundreds of emerging technologies and trends is unparalleled, and his insights are trusted by many of the world’s most respected organisations, including ABB, Accenture, Adidas, AON, ARM, BCG, Centrica, Citi, Coca-Cola, Dentons, Deloitte, Dow Jones, EY, Google, KPMG, Lego, Legal & General, LinkedIn, Microsoft, PepsiCo, Qualcomm, RWE, Samsung, Siemens AG and Siemens Energy, T-Mobile, UBS, VISA, Walmart, Workday, Worldpay and many others.
Regularly featured in the global media including the AP, BBC, Bloomberg, CNBC, Discovery, Forbes, Khaleej Times, Telegraph, TIME, ViacomCBS, WIRED, and the WSJ, Matthews mission is to help organisations create a fair and sustainable future whose benefits are shared by everyone irrespective of their ability, background, or circumstances.
What future do you need to see?
Choose one to get started on AI and intelligence and the future of your organisation.
Sources and further reading
- 758 BCG consultants globally papers.ssrn.com
- Ai tool barely helped productivity high skilled experienced workers study 2023 5 businessinsider.com
Source: first published by the 311 Institute on 2 September 2023. Cite as: Griffin, M. (2023). BCG AI in the workplace study shows junior employees benefit more than their seniors. 311 Institute. https://www.311institute.com/bcg-ai-in-the-workplace-study-shows-junior-employees-benefit-more-than-their-seniors/
You are welcome to quote this article with credit and a link to the original.