AI has made us faster and more productive at work. It drafts our emails, summarizes our meetings, and even reminds us to take breaks. But here’s the problem: in our rush to embrace AI, it’s quietly eroding our relationships and how we build human connections at work and in our everyday lives. People are increasingly using tools like ChatGPT to help them write, coach, and communicate. And many are also turning to it for therapy and relationship advice.
The problem is, AI doesn’t truly understand people as unique individuals. It can mimic empathy, but it can’t understand it. It can predict tone, but it can’t sense intent.
The way we communicate with one person shouldn’t be the same as the way we communicate with the next, yet that’s exactly what happens when we hand over the nuances of being human to a machine. And it’s showing up at work: 82% of employees now report burnout, and 85% have experienced conflict at work. The majority trace it back to miscommunication, misunderstandings, or feeling unseen.
AI is teaching us to write better, but not necessarily to understand better. Written communication has never been more polished. Yet the more we optimize our words, the more disconnected we seem to feel from one another.
The importance of respecting human nuance
AI can help us communicate, but it shouldn’t act as a crutch. The real opportunity lies in using it as a mirror, which helps us better understand ourselves and the people we work with. Rather than replacing emotional intelligence (EQ), many teams are turning to personality science, such as the Five-Factor Model, to help leaders recognize how different teammates prefer feedback, how they handle stress, or why two colleagues interpret the same message in completely different ways.
For teams, and for counselors and coaches, the goal is similar: not to have AI communicate for us, but to help us communicate better with each individual that we engage with. Because no two people hear, feel, communicate, or respond to information in the same way. And while the best communicators already know this instinctively, in today’s era of chatbots and synthetic personas, we often abandon that awareness. We need to go back to giving each message, each meeting, and each moment the same level of consideration. Who’s on the other side? What do they value? How do they process information or emotion?
Leaders who take the time to personalize their communication build trust faster and resolve conflict sooner. When we adapt our style to meet people where they are, we only get better outcomes and make sure that people feel seen.
Why we need to leverage EQ to optimize communications and outcomes
Emotional intelligence isn’t disappearing because people lack empathy. It’s slipping because we’re letting machines do more of the communicating unilaterally. A new study by the Wharton School and GBK Collective found that 43% of leaders warn of “skill atrophy” as automation takes over routine work. This includes how we communicate.
Leadership happens in the spaces algorithms cannot see: a pause in a meeting, the tension after a missed deadline, or the silence that signals someone doesn’t feel safe speaking up. When we lose sensitivity to those cues, collaboration breaks down. Teams still communicate, but they stop connecting, and that’s when misunderstandings quietly multiply into conflict and burnout.
Here’s how to keep the balance of efficiency and connection at work:
- Pause before you send. Before you hit “approve” on an AI-generated message, ask yourself: Does this sound like me? Does this reflect what the other person needs to hear? Sometimes, a call or short message will land better than a polished paragraph.
- Use AI for preparation, not delivery. Let technology help you structure the “what,” but you bring in the “who” with the person’s history, style, and emotional context in mind.
- Listen and follow up. After sending feedback or direction, prioritize follow-up and check-ins to make sure you keep building the relationship, while listening and applying feedback.
- Prioritize taking a relationship-first approach. Remember that every person interprets messages differently. Landing the right tone and approach, depending on the relationship, shows respect and builds your connection.
The leaders who thrive won’t be those who use AI to talk more. They’ll be the ones who use it to listen more intentionally, understand people, and communicate with individuals uniquely. Because in the end, our progress, happiness, and success depend on the quality of relationships that we have with one another.
