Managers Are Using AI to Write Performance Reviews, and It Shows
ZDNET, Wednesday, October 7th, 2026
Survey: 78% of managers use AI for feedback, but only 16% of employees are told and a third find it less useful.
Highwire surveyed 1,034 corporate employees and found 78% of managers used AI to draft, edit, summarize or inform feedback or reviews in the past year, yet only 16% of non-managers were told AI influenced their review.
While 54% said feedback became more specific and actionable, 34% found it more generic and 32% less useful.
Nearly one in four employees now rehearse difficult conversations with AI, which Highwire attributes to only 44% having manager support to practice such scenarios.