01. 10. 2025 Fabrizio Dovesi Atlassian, Service Management

Project Managers are rAIsing the bar: redefining the rules of the AI Game

Insights into how project managers perceive AI reshaping the project management.

At the Threshold of a New Project Management Era

Over a decade ago, when I first read about how AI could reshape jobs, my main question was how it would affect the role I held then: Project Manager. Years later, after experimenting with the technology, it became clear that its applications are vast, unpredictable, and ultimately unstoppable. A recent PMI report “Artificial Intelligence and Project Management: A Global Chapter-Led Survey ” made me realize that the entire PMs community is rethinking its role as AI becomes embedded in tools, such as Atlassian Jira and Confluence.

A few years ago, a team of global PMI experts explored how project managers experience AI. The resulting “AI in Project Management report” captured insights from across cultures and industries. AI continues to dominate the discussion in 2025, prompting updates on what has evolved since 2024 and what lies ahead. The research draws on PMI chapters, the Project Management Journal®, and AI tools like ChatGPT and Microsoft Copilot to collect and analyze data.

Recently, I had the chance to read the 2025 update of that same report and, as part of my professional role, to dedicate some time to designing AI-based solutions and testing them in practice.

It’s not entirely surprising to see my own perceptions align with those in these reports. After many years as a PM, it’s natural that this mindset still shapes how I view things. Reading these reports has nonetheless offered valuable results, perspectives and sparked ideas that I’m eager to share with this post.

Key Challenges in AI Adoption

The report highlights several key challenges, reported below, that continue to shape the pace and effectiveness of AI adoption in project management, from skill gaps and leadership readiness to ethical considerations and the integration of AI into existing workflows. AI is moving beyond simple assistance. 2025 is predicted to be “the year of AI agents” (NVIDIA, Deloitte), with 25% of enterprises using generative AI expected to deploy autonomous AI agents by 2025, reaching 50% by 2027. These agents can perform multi-step tasks, marking a shift toward more independent project management support. However, adoption remains largely in the pilot stage. Only 22% of organizations have fully integrated AI into project management processes, with broader use currently concentrated in risk management and predictive analytics. While AI agents offer significant opportunities for automation and efficiency, their effective implementation requires strategic planning, adequate training, and careful management of ethical and organizational challenges. These are probably important factors slowing its wider and faster diffusion.

The AI Training Gap

Despite the growing interest in AI, its diffusion in project management faces challenges, with skills remaining a key barrier. Over 40% of project managers lacked AI training in 2024, leaving many unprepared to fully leverage AI’s potential. Companies are increasingly recognizing the strategic importance of upskilling, offering webinars, workshops, and courses to bridge gaps between leadership and operational teams. Partnerships with technology providers ensure that learning remains relevant, while employees’ eagerness to acquire AI skills makes training a priority to unlock the full benefits of AI integration.

Leadership, Trust and Organizational Resistance

Equally important is leadership readiness and organizational trust. While over 60% of project managers are keen to innovate with AI, only 30% believe their leaders are fully prepared to implement AI strategies (McKinsey 2024). Companies like Accenture and IBM are addressing this by appointing Chief AI Officers and creating AI task forces to foster adoption. Building trust involves ethical guidelines, privacy safeguards, and reskilling, ensuring AI complements human judgment rather than replacing it.

Impact on Soft Skills Areas

While AI is advancing in areas such as predictive analytics, risk monitoring, and performance tracking, it remains limited in handling relational and interpersonal skills. Tasks like negotiation, empathy, and collaboration continue to require human input. There are tools to enhance stakeholder engagement and real-time sentiment analysis, providing support that strengthens, rather than replaces, the nuance of human interaction.

Still in Early Stage: AI in Project Management

In 2024, AI adoption in project management largely remained in the early stage. While increasingly applied to risk management, predictive analytics, and resource optimization, only 22% of organizations had fully integrated AI into operations. Investment in generative AI reached $13.8 billion, with high-value applications such as code generation and chatbots gaining traction, and specialized tools transforming sectors like healthcare, legal, and finance. Updated OECD AI Principles are providing guidance on ethical, trustworthy, and globally interoperable AI.

Slower AI Adoption in Agile & Hybrid Methodologies

Adoption in agile and hybrid methodologies has lagged behind waterfall approaches. Nevertheless, in 2024, agile teams began experimenting with AI for backlog prioritization, sprint planning, and forecasting, with tools like Atlassian Jira and Confluence are introducing AI-driven features. While still in early phases, these key developments illustrate AI’s potential to support iterative project management processes:

AI-powered decision-making
Automation of routine tasks
Enhanced collaboration
Predictive analytics
Integration with Agile tools

5 emerging trends for the near future

Looking back on the advancements and obstacles in AI adoption within project management over the past year, it is just as crucial to turn the attention forward. In this concluding section, we examine the emerging trends poised to influence AI in 2025 and beyond, highlighting the innovations, opportunities, and transformative shifts expected to shape the future of the field.

1. AI-Powered Virtual Assistants

AI-powered virtual assistants are increasingly adopted across industries, offering capabilities such as multilingual support, proactive risk alerts, and handling complex project-specific queries. By automating routine tasks like scheduling, drafting agendas, and summarizing project status these assistants allow project managers to focus on strategic planning and team leadership. Tools such as Siri, Alexa, and Google Assistant exemplify this trend, with supporting insights into the reports showing improvements in communication, task management, and early risk detection.

2. Data Analytics & Data-Driven Decision Making

Advanced AI-driven analytics tools, including Tableau, PowerBI, and Python-based platforms, are transforming how organizations make decisions. Predictive and prescriptive analytics facilitate real-time monitoring, risk forecasting, and resource optimization, providing actionable insights for strategic planning. Data-driven decision making empowers project managers to proactively identify potential delays, reallocate resources, and prevent cost overruns.

3. Evolution of Project Management Roles & Skills

AI is reshaping project management roles, creating a growing demand for cross-disciplinary expertise that blends digital literacy with soft skills. Project managers are expected to develop new capabilities to interpret AI-generated insights, align technical outputs with business goals, and mentor teams effectively. Epicflow and Business Insider note that success in this evolving landscape requires both technical and interpersonal skills, allowing managers to harness AI tools while maintaining strategic oversight.

4. Growing Reliance on AI-Enhanced Teams

As remote and hybrid work continues, AI-driven collaboration tools are becoming central to team connectivity, creativity, and equitable participation. Features such as real-time language translation, adaptive collaboration strategies, and sentiment analysis help distributed teams work more effectively. AI tools analyze work patterns, optimize collaboration times, summarize discussions, and monitor team morale, ensuring cohesive workflows despite physical distance.

5. AI Agents

AI agents represent a significant step toward autonomous project management support. By automating routine tasks, enhancing decision-making, and facilitating communication across distributed teams, they free project managers to focus on strategic leadership and stakeholder engagement. As we mentioned at the beginning, according to Deloitte and Nvidia, 25% of enterprises using generative AI are expected to deploy AI agents by 2025, with this figure projected to double by 2027. Scenarios include AI-powered assistants predicting delays, suggesting alternatives, updating schedules, and generating visual reports, enabling data-driven decisions while reducing operational micromanagement.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the evolution of AI in project management is no longer a distant prospect but a tangible reality reshaping tools, roles, and skills. These reports show that, despite challenges related to training, leadership and organizational trust, adoption continues to progress steadily and this is fully aligning with my own with my personal feelings when using this technology. The potential of AI agents and predictive analytics promises to reduce operational burdens, allowing project managers to focus more on leadership and relational tasks. It is equally clear that soft skills, such as negotiation and empathy, cannot be easily replaced, as they provide the crucial equilibrium between technology and human interaction. The organizations that invest in targeted training and ethical, inclusive adoption strategies will be better positioned to capture the competitive advantages of AI. Looking ahead, project management is set to evolve into an increasingly hybrid discipline, where human capabilities and machine intelligence converge to create value.

To conclude, it is impossible to predict how AI will evolve in the coming years, both in project management and across other roles; these first years already bring a couple of certainties: the story of AI is far from ending anytime soon, nor does it show any intention of unfolding slowly, as everything is evolving at a rapid pace. We will all witness a profound transformation in the way we work and live; what everyone must avoid is merely enduring this change instead of actively embracing it!

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