Cisco outlined a people-first AI strategy on July 2, 2026, positioning workforce change, skills development, and internal governance as the core of its AI deployment. The company's use of AI now spans coding, product design, HR, communications, and marketing, and its leadership says the shift demands a stronger focus on learning, experimentation, and trust-not just a technical rollout.
Workforce transformation, not just technology
Mary de Wysocki, SVP and Chief Learning & Future Readiness Officer at Cisco, said businesses that benefit most from AI will treat skills and workforce preparation as core investment areas. "AI will reshape work and the workforce, just as every major technological shift has before," de Wysocki said. "This isn't simply a technology transformation - it's a workforce transformation. The organizations and economies that thrive will be those that invest in people with the same urgency they invest in technology. That means expanding access to skills, creating a culture of continuous learning, and working across business, education, and government to prepare more people for what's next."
Fran Katsoudas, EVP and People, Policy & Purpose Officer, said Cisco views AI as a support system for employees rather than a way to reduce the human role. "At Cisco, we see AI as a team sport," Katsoudas said. "If we do it right, we don't lose connection. Instead, we elevate what is deeply human about work."
Cisco's internal programs include AI literacy courses, live learning labs, and role-based training modules that help employees understand how to use AI tools in daily work. The company also offers access to third-party courses alongside internal programs. The company's investment in AI literacy and role-based training mirrors a wider movement in AI for Human Resources to embed continuous learning into the employee experience.
Managing anxiety and building trust
Marci Paino, Chief Learning Officer at Cisco, said transparency is a major factor in reducing employee anxiety around AI. "A big part of addressing anxiety is building a culture of trust and transparency," Paino said. "That means being clear with our workforce about how we plan to use the data we collect, and what we expect of employees as they learn to use AI in their roles."
Cisco has tried to define AI as a support tool rather than a replacement, while reinforcing that human judgment remains necessary as roles evolve. "We believe this technology will fundamentally redefine roles and jobs, but the need for humans to be in the lead isn't going away," Paino said. "Continuous reinforcement from our leaders is important not only to guide people through change but to ensure the ethical, responsible, and secure adoption of AI."
Guy Diedrich, SVP and Chief Innovation Officer at Cisco, said the pace of AI-driven change means businesses need to become more adaptable. "The better way of saying AI-first, would be saying agile-first," Diedrich said. "That's what you're going to have to be as an organization moving forward. You're going to have to be incredibly agile because we've never seen technology move at a pace of innovation like we're seeing now."
AI as a co-worker, not a replacement
Jeetu Patel, President and Chief Product Officer at Cisco, described AI agents as a way to increase the amount of work teams can take on. "AI agents aren't just making existing work faster; they're a new workforce of co-workers that dramatically expand what organizations can accomplish," Patel said. "Projects shelved for lack of resources are now within reach. The only limit is imagination."
Austin Roth-Eagle, who leads the AI Acceleration Office for Cisco Global Communications, said the company builds AI systems with human review built into the process. "The goal is not to build AI systems that don't require humans," Roth-Eagle said. "The goal is to build AI systems that maximize our productivity and impact. Deep domain expertise - and knowing what good looks like, what mediocre looks like, what bad looks like - is as much a differentiator as AI fluency itself. The folks who are accelerating figure out how to use AI to 10x their already strong industry-vertical expertise."
Cisco's people-first approach aligns with a growing recognition in AI for Executives & Strategy that skills and governance are the real bottlenecks, not the technology itself.
Internal tools and the Circuit assistant
Cisco developed its own internal AI assistant, Circuit, which keeps company information inside Cisco's environment while giving employees access to multiple AI models through one interface. The platform integrates Cisco's own models as well as external models including Claude, ChatGPT, and Gemini, and routes requests to the model it considers best suited for a task.
"I think Circuit has been a game changer for Cisco," Roth-Eagle said. "Obviously from a security perspective, keeping data behind the Cisco firewall is huge. But Circuit is an incredibly capable tool." Paino added that the assistant has become useful beyond speed and automation, particularly in helping staff improve the quality of their work. "It's a brainstorming partner," Paino said. "And it can point out your blind spots and improve the quality of your work. A lot of companies are very focused on AI's use in productivity. I actually see the quality piece as even more important."
Gianpaolo Barozzi, VP and Chief Technology Officer for People, Policy & Purpose at Cisco, pointed to the company's Echo exhibition, an interactive project built with artists, engineers, and AI systems. "The result could not have been achieved by developers only and could not have been achieved by artists only," Barozzi said. "And it couldn't be achieved by AI only." Katsoudas reinforced that principle: "Our goal is not to replace human potential with AI, but to unlock more of it. That requires clear guardrails, responsible leadership, and a culture where people have the confidence to meet this moment with curiosity and purpose."
Why this matters for executives and strategy
Cisco's internal playbook shows that AI deployment at scale depends on workforce readiness, not just model performance. The company's focus on AI literacy, role-based training, and transparent communication about how data is used and decisions are made offers a direct model for other large organizations. For executives, the message is clear: the speed of AI adoption is limited by how quickly staff can learn, test, and integrate the technology into daily workflows. Treating AI as a workforce transformation-with clear governance, human oversight, and continuous skill-building-is the practical requirement for getting value from the technology, not a soft HR add-on.
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