The New 16%: How the Fastest Workers Got So Far Ahead

Reflect w/ Ed Fassio — where AI tells the stories that matter.

Microsoft's 2026 Work Trend Index is the biggest study of AI at work ever run: 20,000 workers across 10 countries, plus trillions of anonymized productivity signals. Buried in it is a finding that reframes the entire skills conversation: 16% of AI users have become Frontier Professionals — and 80% of them say they're producing work they couldn't have done a year ago.

But the real story isn't their speed. It's what they refuse to...