Will AI ultimately boost remote work?
A new report from IT software company GoTo suggests the answer is “yes.” CEO Rich Veldran told IT Brew that employees realize AI can take over routine tasks, impacting their day-to-day workflows, including whether they actually need to be present in an office to do their jobs.
“I personally believe that it’s always going to be a hybrid world,” Veldran said.
Context. Enthusiasm for AI among surveyed employees is notable: GoTo found that 71% believe AI could improve their workplace flexibility and work–life balance. Around two-thirds said that AI would allow them to work anywhere without a loss of productivity, and 65% said it could even improve customer service while working remotely. For Martha Heller, CEO of tech recruiting firm Heller, the question of remote and hybrid work comes down to what kind of work culture your company wants. AI can play a role, she said, but she’s hesitant to say it can be a determining factor.
“Don’t let AI’s efficacy determine what your strategy for remote is going to be,” Heller said. “Because, one, it’s not an AI decision, it’s a human decision, and, two, AI tools are so nascent right now. We are just at the beginning of the success of these tools.”
Remote work comes with challenges, including security concerns. Executives using personal devices at home and in the office to access sensitive information can make protecting IT infrastructure exponentially more difficult, SANS Institute instructor Lodrina Cherne told IT Brew in 2023: “issues of remote work and executives aren’t an order of multitude; it’s an order of magnitude.”
And with more RTO policies in place in the last year, IT teams are stretched to provide appropriate guidance about cybersecurity. Remote work also raises some concerns around productivity, though a 2024 Bureau of Labor and Statistics study found that working away from the office had little to no impact.
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Piece by piece. Seth Robinson, CompTIA VP of industry research, told IT Brew that SMBs are exploring whether their resources and needs will support remote work.. Traditionally, larger enterprises have more human capital, motivating a return to office. In theory, AI tools could help smaller companies boost productivity and free up resources in ways that allow staff to work remotely by streamlining aspects of the in-office workflow, such as generating meeting notes.
“Certainly, if you’re a small business, being flexible with remote work policies really broadens the path that you would have to bring talent in,” Robinson said. “And so in a lot of cases, it is to those companies’ benefit to be leveraging remote or hybrid work, and to the extent that the technology tools allow that, and AI enables those technology tools, I think we’re going to see some intersections there.”
IT teams were even more enthusiastic about the technology. GoTo reported that nine out of 10 IT leaders surveyed said AI improved outcomes for remote staff. Veldran said he’d tell IT teams that because the technology is a game-changer for remote work, they need to be ready.
“My suggestion would be two things: set expectations about what you would assume productivity will be, and define what the outcomes are that you’re looking for,” Veldran said. “And then measure them.”