When AI Becomes a Teammate: What Upwork’s Research Reveals About the Relational Shifts AI Is Driving at Work

The productivity gains from AI are real, but they’re only sustainable when AI augments, not replaces, human connection, purpose and growth. 

That’s the core insight from the Upwork Research Institute’s latest report, From Tools to Teammates: Navigating the New Human-AI Relationship. Based on a global survey of 2,500 workers, including C-suite leaders, full-time employees, and independent freelancers, the research reveals a fundamental shift: AI is no longer just a tool. It’s becoming a teammate. The report is the latest installment in our multi-year study examining how AI is transforming the workforce.

While AI is helping people work faster and smarter, it's also reshaping how work gets done, how teams connect, and how individuals experience the workplace. Unlocking the true power of AI requires more than just adopting the tech—it means rethinking how work is structured, how relationships are supported, and how talent is empowered.

AI is boosting productivity, but also accelerating burnout among top performers

Last year, we found that 77% of employees reported AI had increased their workloads. This year’s report shows many workers are now seeing a 40% boost in productivity, driven by better tools, more training, and time to experiment. The business results are clear: 77% of C-suite leaders say they’ve observed measurable productivity gains across their teams.

However, these productivity gains are coming at an emotional and relational cost, pointing to a potential lack of trust and clarity from leadership. Our research finds that the full-time employees getting the most done with AI are also the most burned out, disengaged, and disconnected from their teams. 88% say they are experiencing burnout, and they are twice as likely to consider quitting compared to their peers.

The most productive AI workers are also the most disconnected from their organization’s AI strategy. 62% don’t understand how their daily use of AI aligns with company goals. Power users often find themselves stuck between two extremes: leaders who don’t get AI at all, or leaders who believe AI will magically solve everything, leaving those with the most hands-on experience struggling to navigate strategic implementation in either case.

“Too often, we assume that AI adoption is a technical challenge,” says Dr. Kelly Monahan, managing director of the Upwork Research Institute. “But our research shows it's also a relational one. Trust, transparency, and shared purpose are essential to unlocking the full potential of AI. Without them, even the most promising technologies can undermine engagement and well-being.”

The takeaway for leaders: Organizations that want to retain their most productive workers must go beyond tools and training to foster connection, support, and alignment. Without thoughtful integration, even the most promising technologies can undermine team cohesion and well-being.

AI users trust AI teammates more than humans

The emotional and relational dynamics of AI adoption are beginning to surface in the workplace. AI is now a teammate, not just a tool, and workers are starting to bond with AI more than with each other. 

More than two-thirds of top AI performers say they trust AI more than their coworkers, and 64% report having a better relationship with AI than with human teammates. Workers are anthropomorphizing AI; nearly half say “please” and “thank you” in every request, and 87% speak to AI as if it were a colleague.

When organizations design for greater productivity with AI by reimagining workflows and measuring productivity outcomes, they often miss the nuanced and specific relationships people are clearly developing with AI, and how those relationships could be displacing for fraying connections between people. Those weakening connections compound burnout and talent loss, and risk the human performance we know leaders continue to want.

Freelancers are modeling healthier relationships with AI

Independent professionals appear to be navigating this shift with greater deftness. Interestingly, freelancers are just as productive with AI, but more in control, more resilient, and more focused on leveraging AI for their own personal growth and development. Nearly nine in 10 freelancers say AI has had a positive impact on their work, and 42% credit it with helping them specialize in a niche. Most use AI as a learning partner, with 90% saying it helps them acquire new skills faster.

By contrast, only 30% of full-time employees say AI has helped them take on new projects—and far fewer report benefits like faster promotions, better pay, or improved job opportunities. This gap points to the importance of agency, trust, and autonomy in how AI is integrated into daily work.

Freelancers also report greater well-being and more control over how they adopt AI in their workflows, an area where many full-time employees continue to struggle. Freelance talent offers a blueprint for how work can be redesigned for a more balanced, human-centered AI future. While encouraging AI literacy is a starting point, it's AI empowerment, as modeled by freelancers, that will ultimately drive long-term success.

Designing Work Where Humans and AI Can Thrive Together

As AI becomes central to how work gets done, leaders face a choice: adopt AI purely for efficiency and endure the potential side effects, or redesign work systems that allow humans and machines to thrive together.

To thrive in the age of AI, work must be redesigned to restore what legacy systems stripped away: autonomy, connection, and purpose. This means moving beyond tool deployment to intentionally structuring roles, relationships, and workflows where AI augments, not replaces, human creativity and trust. Flexible talent ecosystems and psychologically safe environments aren’t perks; they’re prerequisites for sustainable performance.

“We’re observing a major inflection point in how work gets done,” says Dr. Gabby Burlacu, senior research manager at the Upwork Research Institute. “Over three-quarters of C-suite leaders and employees believe AI agents will completely reinvent the way people work. The real opportunity isn’t just deploying AI; it’s designing the organizational systems where humans and AI can thrive together.”

At Upwork, we’re a leader in helping organizations redesign work systems to meet this moment. Across our work marketplace, we’re seeing businesses invest in AI-literate, flexible talent and prioritize collaboration models that support well-being and trust. This research underscores our commitment to blending human ingenuity with AI for supercharged outcomes.

And the shift is already underway. As AI and AI agents become embedded in workflows, demand is rising for professionals who can build and collaborate with these technologies. On Upwork, monthly searches for talent skilled in working with AI agents have surged nearly 300% in the past six months.

Sustained AI productivity gains won’t come from technology alone. They require rethinking how work is structured and how teams are built. Freelancers will be a critical part of that transformation. As this research shows, independent professionals are modeling healthier, more empowered relationships with AI, using it to learn faster, specialize, and deliver greater value. Their agility and fluency with emerging tools make them essential partners in building the flexible, high-performing teams of the future.

For more data and insights, read the full report from the Upwork Research Institute.