KPMG US

The Digital Teammate Era Has Arrived

The episode of "You Can with AI" explores the emerging concept of "digital teammates"—AI agents positioned as co‑workers rather than simple software tools. Host Nathaniel Whitmore speaks with Surajit Chatterjee, CEO of Emma, and Edu Sacko, KPMG’s head of workforce innovation, to unpack how this framing reshapes organizational design and employee mindset. Key insights include the distinction between static SaaS applications and dynamic AI employees that can onboard, receive feedback, and make autonomous decisions. Emma’s three‑year journey demonstrates that AI employees can handle end‑to‑end workflows—HR, customer support, and code generation—while KPMG’s neuroscience‑backed research shows that language matters: calling AI a "teammate" triggers collaborative brain patterns, increasing openness to delegation and iteration. Notable examples illustrate the shift. Emma’s client with 250,000 employees reduced HR query resolution from days to minutes, yet initial trust issues caused users to double‑check AI answers with humans. KPMG’s own autonomous‑vehicle test highlighted how clear role explanations and guardrails ease user anxiety. Both speakers stress that trust is built incrementally, mirroring the onboarding of a human hire. The implications are profound: organizations must redesign onboarding, governance, and upskilling programs to treat AI agents as team members, defining roles, responsibilities, and feedback loops. Success hinges on transparent communication, continuous learning, and a cultural shift that embraces AI as a collaborative partner rather than a replaceable tool.