• By Alex David
  • Mon, 30 Jun 2025 07:33 PM (IST)
  • Source:JND

Microsoft is embedding AI more deeply in its organisational and workplace culture. The company is now asking managers to consider how employees utilise internal AI applications, like GitHub Copilot, during performance evaluations. This action is indicative of Microsoft’s determination to make sure that AI becomes an integral component of every individual's and team's work processes.

AI Usage to Influence Performance Reviews

Julia Liuson, President of Microsoft’s Developer Division, informed managers via an internal email that AI usage “should be part of your holistic reflections on an individual’s performance and impact.” The memo emphasized that adopting AI tools is now considered a basic requirement at all levels of the company.

ALSO READ: OpenAI Responds To Meta Poaching Spree By Recalibrating Compensation For Top Talent

  • Managers are being encouraged to include formal AI usage metrics in upcoming performance cycles.
  • The policy may be officially rolled out in the next fiscal year.

Focus on GitHub Copilot

The Booster Program internally focuses on deploying GitHub Partot, their proprietary AI coding assistant, at great but unsuccessfully meeting expectations because of competition from tools such as Cursor.

  • Cursor has reportedly surpassed Copilot in certain developer segments.
  • These challenges are putting pressure on Microsoft’s strategic partnership with OpenAI.

External AI Tools Permitted Under Conditions

Microsoft focuses on internal tools and systems, but they still permit the use of specific external AI platforms that meet the company's security protocols. An example includes Replit’s AI Assistant which is available to employees.

Stricter Performance Management Across the Board

With this new system, based on evaluations using AI technology, comes the shift in performance benchmarks:

  • There is the addition of a two-year rehiring freeze for employees flagged as underperformers.
  • “Global Voluntary Separation Agreement” grants 16 weeks severance pay to eligible self-identified low achievers who voluntarily quit their job.
  • Earlier in the year, Microsoft announced an approximate layoff of two thousand employees, with further identified cuts concentrated in the sales department.

Streamlined business operations alongside hundreds of billions allocated for an advanced AI framework, including approximately $80 billion on data centres, are designed to meet Microsoft’s focus.

Conclusion

This policy change foreshadows a significant acceleration decision - utilisation of AI is now a minimum baseline requirement instead of an added perk. The company seeks to assert itself strategically and gain an early stronghold by indefatigably leading in extensive multi-use frameworks across artificial intelligence. Employees must integrate company-provided tools into daily workflows or else risk obsolescence within corporate structures. At the centre of these changes lie performance benchmarks, advancement opportunities, and even retaining employment all increasingly dependent on integrated pseudo-AI interactions showcasing intricate integration plans into Microsoft policies revolving around situational workplace strategies powered by artificial intelligence systems.