5 Myths About WFM and AI Debunked
AI has a proven track record in workforce management. See how it offers the opportunity for people to be the artists while AI handles the science.
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Recently, Verint sponsored a presentation at CRMXchange’s Virtual WFO Conference, AI & WFM: Busting Myths and Setting the Record Straight.
In a fun, conversational format, Verint’s Trudy Cannon, Senior Director, Go-to-Market Strategy, WFM, and Mike Moore, Vice President of Product Strategy, WFM, debunked 5 common myths customers and industry influencers have voiced concerning the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in workforce management (WFM) solutions.
- “AI will solve all of our forecasting problems in one click.”
- “AI will make my job obsolete.”
- “AI will ruin my carefully crafted staffing plans.”
- “AI in WFM is only for large organizations.”
- “AI is just a fad that will pass.”
Before diving into these specific myths, Trudy and Mike discussed the state of AI in general, why so many organizations aren’t seeing an ROI on their AI investments, and common areas where AI already exists in many WFM solutions.
Why AI Initiatives Are Failing
Trudy shared the results of an MIT study that found that 95% of AI-related initiatives fail. 95%! Trudy asked the 200+ audience members, who were mostly WFM Planners, what they thought was driving the failures. Responses varied, but two ranked higher than the others:
- Bad or insufficient data.
- Lack of defined or expected outcomes / measurable success metrics.
Mike agreed. He observed that people get really obsessed with the concept of AI and machine learning and similar capabilities.
However, instead of starting with a business problem they think AI can solve, they just want to install it and experiment with it. They don’t have a plan to deliver an outcome.
What Is AI in Workforce Management?
So to level set for the audience, Trudy asked Mike: What do we consider AI in WFM?
Caveat: Mike LOVES this topic and expounded on it at length. 😊 So much so we created a separate blog that details his thoughts on the state of “AI in Workforce Management: Past, Present, and Future.”
You can dive deeper into the topic in that blog. For this blog we’ll summarize that for existing WFM solutions, AI exists in the form of:
- Algorithms and machine learning models
- Scheduling engines and automated processes
- Natural language, intelligent virtual assistant (IVA) interfaces
- True automation, not rules-based workflows.
So now onto the five myths.
Myth 1: AI will solve all of our forecasting problems in one click
Trudy quickly shot this myth down by pointing out that WFM is both an art and a science. AI is doing science for us—gathering and analyzing data, applying algorithms, etc. But as the planner and “artist,” we still have to:
- Validate the data, forecasts and schedules generated by AI, and
- Add the nuances and layer on the other stuff we know from experience impacts our plans, and for which AI doesn’t have a data source.
While it is an absolute game changer when it comes to creating an accurate base forecast, it can’t operate by itself. Human touches need to be added to that.
Mike concurred and added: In the next few years, Agentic AI will be able to create a great baseline forecast for you. But the Agentic worker has zero context into the external things that will or could happen during that forecasting period.
There’s this deep business context that we have as humans and decision makers that is really critical to achieving your cost and service goals. So we’ll continue to be in charge of that.
A webinar attendee, a workforce analyst for a large facilities maintenance company, agreed and shared in the chat: “I constantly let new analysts know about the art & science of what we do... there is more to it than data.”
Myth 2: AI will make my job obsolete
Trudy shared results from a recent LinkedIn report* that estimates 85% of U.S. professionals could see at least a quarter of their skills reshaped by AI. For Trudy, this represents an opportunity for us to improve and expand our skills.
AI may change the role of the workforce planner, but it won’t eliminate it.
*LinkedIn Guide to Future-Proofing Your Career: What to know about evolving jobs, in-demand skills and strategic moves in the age of AI, LinkedIn, September 29, 2025
In response to a poll, a senior WFM analyst at a pharmaceutical company shared in the chat: “AI will give us the headspace and bandwidth to focus more on the people and complex business needs.”
Mike added that AI flags anomalies and recommends adjustments for you. This alone will change your role as you spend less time gathering data, updating spreadsheets, and making manual calculations.
Now you’ll have more time for strategic planning, employee development, complex problem solving, and change management.
Trudy spoke from her experience as a WFM planner, reflecting that we are the backbone of everyday life for people who work for our companies. We are the ones that help them schedule the time with their children and enable them to attend special events.
Yes, we need capacity and service levels and great outcomes, but at the end of the day we’re a people business. That will become more evident and more possible as AI takes on the “science” tasks, allowing us to spend more time solving problems and developing our teams.
Mike concluded: I foresee a new job profile that will probably evolve in the next two to three years. Those of you who work in the contact center and are managing operations might end up managing some operators that are agentic. You’ll be responsible for telling them what to do, what not to do, and what they should and should not have access to.
A global WFM director for an online retailer predicted in the chat that: “WFM forecasters will evolve into QAs of AI forecasting agents to fine-tune against bias, drift, and hallucinations.”
Myth 3: AI will ruin my carefully crafted staffing plans
Trudy has been asked more than once, “What if AI ruins my staffing plan?” So, Trudy began this section by asking some questions of her own.
- What if AI could uncover additional insight that could enhance your carefully crafted plan?
- What if AI could do the tedious tasks of gathering and organizing data for you? What if it could do it faster?
- And if you do have a fantastic plan that is spot on, how long did it take you to get there?
- How long are you willing to wait before you get left behind?
Fear of the unknown is natural, but you can’t let fear stand in the way of progress.
As one webinar participant put it rather bluntly: “AI will eliminate the WFM roles of those that are too stubborn to learn how to use AI. Because why should they keep you, if someone else using AI can do the same things faster and more accurately?”
Mike acknowledged that right now there is a lot of sensitivity around the risk of AI making mistakes. We are not yet in a place where we can let AI manage and drive outcomes on its own.
There’s too much context lost on what your business is about, what you care about, and what your priorities are. It only knows what the historical data says. So, for AI to be effective, it requires management on both ends:
- In the beginning, to ensure the data that’s going in is great and comprehensive.
- At the end, to carefully monitor and validate the outputs.
AI can’t help a broken process, and it can’t fix bad data.
If you don’t have a structured WFM practice with standardized processes and approaches across your organization, then you are likely not going to see the benefits of the AI in WFM.
Myth 4: AI in WFM is only for large organizations
Trudy pointed out that automation in smaller organizations is much more critical due to the limited number of WFM professionals on staff.
Mike added that it’s harder to get an accurate forecast and a plan that is on point when you have smaller volumes. If you are missing a couple of intervals, it can break your whole forecast for that day.
AI in WFM can become the junior analyst or intern you weren’t able to hire in a smaller organization, to do many of the time-consuming, data-centric tasks. It creates more time for the WFM planner to solve problems and think more strategically.
Myth 5: AI Is Just a Fad That Will Pass
Trudy pointed out that WFM has been around for 20+years, and there was a time when it was seen as a fad that couldn’t possibly be better than the macro-ladened spreadsheet a WFM planner personally built and maintained.
In addition, AI has proven its value by:
- Improving forecast accuracy: a global sports betting & iGaming provider increases forecasting accuracy by 50 percent
- Automating steps in our WFM practices: Serco automates schedule change requests, reducing workforce planner workload by 30 percent
- Uncovering insights that would have taken hours to identify manually:
“We re-invented our workforce management strategy in just one month. Complete, timely insights enable us to schedule people worldwide according to demand, in turn delivering more responsive and efficient service.” Manas Vyas, Workforce Planning Manager, Hurtigruten.
Mike anticipates that AI will be critical for running our businesses for the next 20 years until the next big thing comes. The scale and speed with which AI is growing and expanding its capabilities is astounding.
And now with Agentic AI, AI is not just answering questions but completing multi-step tasks autonomously. Learn more about Agentic AI and other innovations in Mike’s blog: AI in Workforce Management: Past, Present, and Future.
The AI Opportunities in WFM
Mike and Trudy shared some ideas for where you might start leveraging AI and create agentic workers to partner with your WFM and operations teams:
- Autonomous schedule optimization
- Proactive identification and resolution of things such as compliance issues
- Intelligent break scheduling based on real time and incoming volume
- Automated shift-bidding processes where you don’t have to be so entrenched in the shift-bidding process.
Key Takeaways
- AI is not a fad; it has a proven track record
- Be the ARTIST and let AI do the SCIENCE
- AI will transform your skills rather than eliminate your job
- Get on board today!
To learn more, watch the on-demand webinar: AI & WFM: Busting Myths and Setting the Record Straight and check out Mike’s blog: AI in Workforce Management: Past, Present, and Future.
Click here to learn more about Verint’s AI-powered Workforce Management solutions.