The workers who stay ahead of AI tend to have these 3 habits — how many do you follow?

But there’s a tradeoff. When a tool handles more of the tasks that once required your own judgment, problem-solving, and creativity, it’s worth asking whether those skills are still getting enough use.

A new Pulse of Work 2026 report from GoTo suggests many workers are already questioning their relationship with AI. Half of employees say they rely on it more than they should, while 39% say using it too much is making them less intelligent. Another 30% say they feel like they couldn’t function at work without it.

That doesn’t necessarily mean workers should stop using AI. The bigger question is whether they’re using it to become more effective — or allowing it to replace too much of the thinking that allows them to grow in their careers.

As AI becomes a bigger part of the workplace — whether you agree with it or not — keeping your skills sharp may be just as important as learning how to use the technology.

Check in on your AI use once a week

It can be hard to notice when a helpful shortcut starts becoming a habit. That’s why Dan Schawbel, workplace researcher and managing partner at Workplace Intelligence, recommends setting aside time each week to review how you’re using AI.

In a piece he wrote for CNBC, Schawbel suggested doing a quick “AI audit” and asking yourself whether the technology is helping you work more efficiently — or whether you’re handing over tasks you should still be practicing yourself.

“If you can’t explain, defend, or redo the work AI produced without the tool, you’ve crossed from augmentation into dependency,” Schawbel told Moneywise*.*

“The employees who stay sharp are the ones who use AI to speed up a first draft or surface options, but still apply their own judgment before it goes out the door, like checking outputs for accuracy and bias rather than accepting them at face value.”

A few questions can help:

• Am I using AI to speed up repetitive work, or am I avoiding tasks that would help me build skills?
• Are there things I’ve stopped doing myself because AI can do them faster?
• Am I using AI to improve my work, or simply to get a finished product?

The difference matters. Using AI to catch typos in a report you wrote is very different from asking it to create the report from start to finish. One gives you a productivity boost, while the other can mean missing out on the experience and problem-solving that helps you grow professionally.

A weekly check-in can help make sure AI remains a tool you control — rather than a tool that slowly starts doing the thinking for you. It doesn’t need to be a formal review.

Once a week, take a minute to think about where AI showed up in your work. Did it help you clear a tedious task off your plate? Great. Did it step in before you had a chance to solve a problem yourself? That might be a sign to pull back.

Do the hard tasks yourself first

One of the easiest ways to lose a skill is to stop using it entirely. Schawbel makes a similar point in his advice on using AI at work: don’t let the technology take over the parts of your job that help you grow and develop.

Whether it’s learning a new software program, managing a project, or writing more effectively, there’s usually some trial and error involved. You make mistakes, work through problems, and figure things out along the way.

AI can remove a lot of that friction — which is exactly why it’s useful. But if it’s always doing the difficult part for you, you may be missing the experience that builds your skills.

Instead of asking AI for the answer right away, try taking the first pass yourself. Draft the email. Build the spreadsheet. Sketch out the presentation. Work through the analysis. Then use AI to review your work, suggest improvements, or point out things you may have missed.

That approach also makes it easier to catch when AI gets something wrong. GoTo’s report found that, while AI is becoming common in the workplace, 87% of IT leaders say AI-generated work regularly needs revisions before it’s ready to use.

The workers who benefit most from AI likely won’t be the ones who simply use it the most. They’ll be the ones who understand when to rely on it — and when their own judgment matters more.

Use the time AI saves to invest in yourself

One reason AI has caught on so quickly at work is that it can handle a lot of the smaller tasks that eat up the day.

Research suggests that time savings can add up. In a field experiment involving more than 6,000 workers, researchers found that employees using generative AI tools spent less time on certain tasks, including email and document work.

But saving time only helps if workers use it well. Maybe that means finally learning a piece of software they’ve been putting off, taking on a project outside their usual responsibilities, or spending more time building relationships at work.