Your AI agents need performance management, too

Your AI agents need performance management, too

August 26, 2026 · 30 min

About this episode

The episode discusses the management of AI agents and their impact on human talent in the workplace.

Agents: Everybody’s got them. But who’s managing them? And what happens to the human talent working alongside them—and being asked to show up differently as a result? “The rise of AI doesn’t mean we all suddenly devolve our responsibilities for quality control and critical thinking,” says Kate Smaje , McKinsey’s global leader of technology and AI and coauthor of the recent book Rewired . “That’s not the world we live in. There’s a premium on those capabilities now.” In this episode of McKinsey Talks Talent , Smaje joins Senior Partner Brooke Weddle and Partner Bryan Hancock , along with Global Editorial Director Lucia Rahilly, to discuss what leading through the AI moment means for the relationship between people and technology, including ways of working; costs, benefits, and risks; and the need for open dialogue about the question, “Why AI?” See www.mckinsey.com/privacy-policy for privacy information

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