'AI is no longer optional': Microsoft is allegedly pressuring employees to use AI tools through manager evaluations

First reported by Business Insider, a purported internal memo from Julia Liuson, the Corporate Vice President of Microsoft's Developer Division, shows that managers are now being asked to evaluate employees based on their use of AI tools. An employee review metric for measuring AI use is reportedly under consideration according to Business Insider as well.

Liuson's memo made her expectations here clear: "AI is now a fundamental part of how we work. Just like collaboration, data-driven thinking, and effective communication, using AI is no longer optional—it's core to every role and every level."

To be fair, there's some logic to this decision—the people developing Microsoft's AI tools and services should probably be using them to get a better idea of the user experience.

At the same time, it's hard not to read this as Microsoft resorting to the stick of employee reviews to get them to actually use these tools, which have struggled to gain adoption with everyday users and faced backlash over Copilot's controversial Recall feature, as well as the usual AI inaccuracies and "hallucinations."

Recall uses AI to "remember" your activity on your computer by taking screenshots every few seconds so you can use Copilot to find websites or files you previously viewed. Microsoft had to backpedal on the feature when it was first announced due to an uproar over security concerns.

While the company has attempted to address those concerns leading up to Recall's long-delayed beta release, the feature is still tarred with these associations, and I find it hard to trust Microsoft on its claims about Copilot's offline, airtight security.

Even for people who already use AI on a regular basis, Copilot probably isn't their first choice. As of 2025, ChatGPT has some 400 million active users while Copilot only has 33 million.

Windows users haven't warmed up much to Copilot, either⁠—often calling it bloatware, with one user even saying, "The way that Microsoft is forcing AI in our PCs even though 90% of its users don't want AI is just annoying."

Unfortunately for Microsoft, comments like this aren't uncommon, and a large part of the apathy toward Copilot is over frustration with how Microsoft has been installing it by default in Windows 11, making it seem like the AI is being forced on everyone.