The applications of AI in our daily lives are increasing at a dizzying speed. Even more so for executive assistants in the workplace. Think of the hours saved with automated minute-taking or saving days of planning and research for a trip itinerary.
According to HCA Mag, a law firm in the United Kingdom has announced it will reward employees with a bonus pot of £1 million if they hit one million Microsoft Copilot prompts. Shoosmiths announced this initiative as part of the company’s move to provide better client services.
“The firm has set a clear and ambitious annual target: one million Microsoft Copilot prompts to unlock a £1m bonus pot for staff in its new financial year,” the company said in a media release.
Meeting the target
Shoosmiths clarified that the target can be “comfortably exceeded” if every employee uses Copilot four times per day.
The reward is part of the organisation’s multi-million collegiate bonus pool and will be available to all staff once the target is achieved.
David Jackson, chief executive of Shoosmiths, said that the programme was not initiated just to get employees to use AI for the sake of it, but to recognise their role in using the technology.
“This is not just about how many times someone uses AI — it’s about how well we use it and the benefits it will have for our clients,” Jackson said in a statement.
Improving AI uptake
The initiative makes Shoosmiths the first major law firm in the UK to link its firm-wide bonus to employees’ use of artificial intelligence.
“We don’t fear AI—it won’t replace our people,” Jackson said. “Instead, it frees them to spend more time on the human-to-human work that really matters: solving problems, building trust, and supporting clients through complexity.”
This programme highlights the measures organisations will take to improve AI utilisation in spite of some scepticism in the workforce.
According to Deloitte, approximately seven million people in the UK have now used generative AI tools at work.
