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Technology · Asia Pacific

Australian firms move toward AI agents as adoption grows

Workplace AI is becoming part of routine work in Australia: HP’s 2026 index found 56% of knowledge workers use employer-provided tools weekly or daily and 45% use AI agents, extending the enterprise AI rollout that began in 2023.

AI-assisted synthesis · Based on 2 outlets' reporting · 1 article captured only in partHow it's made

View timeline · 6 entries
This story was corrected on Oct 22, 2026 following an editorial review.
2 outletsLatest reporting 3 min read
Coverage: Too few ratedL 0 · C 1 · R 0 · 1 unrated

What happened

Key facts

  • HP’s 2026 Work Relationship Index found 56 per cent of Australian knowledge workers use work-provided AI daily or weekly, up from 38 per cent a year earlier.
  • The index found 45 per cent use AI agents, above the developed-market average.
  • Brad Pulford, HP vice president and managing director for Australia and New Zealand, said businesses need to give teams context and a clear roadmap for AI adoption.
  • KPMG Australia reported active chief executive ownership of AI initiatives at 83 per cent of organisations.
  • KPMG Australia said agentic AI was shifting business focus from experimentation towards execution.

The brief

Australian firms are moving from AI trials toward workplace use, with HP’s 2026 Work Relationship Index finding that 56 per cent of Australian knowledge workers use work-provided AI daily or weekly, compared with 38 per cent a year earlier. The index also found 45 per cent use AI agents, a share above the developed-market average.

A separate measure from KPMG Australia points to continued investment: its July 2026 AI Pulse found that 89 per cent of organisations expected AI to remain a top investment priority. KPMG also reported active chief executive ownership of AI initiatives at 83 per cent of organisations and said agentic AI was shifting business attention from experimentation toward execution.

Adoption is not even across roles. HP’s research found that knowledge workers trailed IT decision-makers by 19 percentage points and business leaders by 16 percentage points in their use of agentic AI. Brad Pulford, HP’s vice de where AI runs, and involve employees in shaping new work practices.

One example of deployment comes from monday.com, which launched its Harmony voice AI platform in Australia. The company is targeting sales teams that use calls to qualify leads and then transfer customers to human staff.

It said the system moves from audio input to audio output in about 200 milliseconds and can operate at lower infrastructure cost than general-purpose AI in call centre settings. The product’s stated role is to handle sales conversations before a human takes over.

A speaker quoted by telconews.com.au described the platform as intended for complex, high-stakes calls, saying wrong answers can cost money and missed opportunities can put deals at risk. That account presents voice agents as a way to support business development, rather than only automate routine call completion.

The figures and product launch show two sides of the shift: broad use of work-provided AI among knowledge workers, and a company’s attempt to apply a voice agent to a specific sales workflow. The sources do not establish how many Australian firms have deployed such systems or whether Harmony’s claimed performance and cost advantages have been independently tested.

Why it matters

  • Australian knowledge workers face changes to how information-based work is done: 56 per cent use work-provided AI weekly or daily, and 45 per cent use AI agents.
  • The adoption gap matters inside organisations: knowledge workers trail IT decision-makers by 19 percentage points and business leaders by 16 points in agentic AI use.
  • For sales teams, monday.com’s Harmony is designed to qualify leads by phone before transferring customers to human staff; the company says it can respond in about 200 milliseconds.
  • KPMG Australia’s figures indicate organisational commitment alongside deployment: 89 per cent expect AI to remain a top investment priority, and 83 per cent report active chief executive ownership of AI initiatives.

What to watch next

  • Whether Australian organisations translate their stated AI investment priority into wider use of agentic AI in work processes.
  • Whether organisations address the reported gap between knowledge workers’ agentic AI use and adoption among IT decision-makers and business leaders.
  • Whether monday.com’s Harmony platform is used by Australian sales teams to qualify leads and transfer customers to human staff.
  • Whether the company’s stated claims about Harmony’s response speed and infrastructure costs are independently tested.

How it's being covered

Coverage analysisShow details
2 source articles · 2 unique outlets
Outlet political mix: Too few rated· 1 Center · 1 unrated
Where the outlets are based: Asia 100%
Outlet political mix
Too few rated
Left
Center
Right
0 outlets
1 outlet
0 outlets
The marker shows coverage balance: each unique outlet counts once. 1 unrated outlet is not included.
Geography
Where the outlets covering this story are based.
2 unique outletsDominant coverage: Asia
Limited coverage
  • Coverage is currently limited to 2 outlets.
How we measure coverage

How outlets' accounts compare

1 framing difference · 2 uncorroborated claims · 2 information gaps
The reports repeat the same account with different emphasis; its central claims are not independently confirmed in the reporting Updat3 read.Compared across 2 reports whose article text Updat3 read.
Framing / emphasis differences
Sources emphasise different angles, actors or consequences of the same reporting.
  • The Sydney Morning Herald focuses on workplace adoption rates, organisational investment and leadership responsibility; telconews.com.au focuses on monday.com’s voice AI product and its sales-call use.
Updat3: These are differences of emphasis, not disputes about what is reported. They do not show that the reported claims are true.
One-sided or uncorroborated claims
Claims that come from one party or one source family and are not independently corroborated.
  • Brad Pulford said leaders should clarify accountability, decide where AI runs and involve employees in shaping new work practices.
  • A speaker quoted by telconews.com.au said the platform is aimed at complex, high-stakes calls where wrong answers can cost money and missed opportunities can put deals at risk.
Updat3: Not independently corroborated yet — treat as a claim, not an established fact.
Not established by the reporting
Information the available reporting does not contain or confirm. This is a gap, not a disagreement.
  • The sources do not provide independent evidence about Harmony’s performance or cost in Australian deployments.
  • monday.com’s claims about Harmony’s processing speed and infrastructure costs are company claims in the reporting.
Updat3: Updat3 cannot conclude anything about this from the current sources.

Timeline

Developments from this story's sources, dated background we compiled and fact-checked, and our earlier coverage. Each row says which.
  1. The Australian Government published its AI Ethics Principles in November 2019, setting out voluntary guidance on responsible AI development and use.
    Background · from our historical context
  2. The technology’s wider public entry point was OpenAI’s launch of ChatGPT on November 30, 2022.
    Background · from our historical context
  3. The Australian Government opened a consultation on safe and responsible AI.
    Background · compiled and fact-checked by Updat3
  4. Microsoft made Copilot for Microsoft 365 generally available in workplace apps including Word, Excel and Teams.
    Background · compiled and fact-checked by Updat3
  5. On November 6, 2023, OpenAI introduced custom GPTs, allowing users to configure versions of ChatGPT for particular tasks.
    Background · from our historical context
  6. The Australian Government released a Voluntary AI Safety Standard for organisations developing or deploying AI.
    Background · compiled and fact-checked by Updat3

How we got here

Microsoft’s November 1, 2023, general release of Copilot for Microsoft 365 brought generative AI into workplace apps such as Word, Excel and Teams, providing a direct precursor to businesses considering how AI tools fit into everyday workflows. On November 6, 2023, OpenAI introduced custom GPTs, allowing users to configure versions of ChatGPT for particular tasks.

The Australian Government published its AI Ethics Principles in November 2019, setting out voluntary guidance on responsible AI development and use. In June 2023, it opened a consultation on safe and responsible AI, and on September 5, 2024, released a Voluntary AI Safety Standard for organisations developing or deploying AI.

Original sources

2 articles from 2 outlets

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