You're Already an AI Persona. You Just Don't Know Which One.
By Tracy Judge, Founder & CEO, Soundings
Since early 2025, Soundings has been studying how business events professionals actually engage with AI, not how we assume they do. Four survey phases. One year of watching a whole industry figure out, in real time, what its relationship to this technology is going to be.
Here's what surprised me most. It isn't a story about tools. It's a story about identity.
The numbers tell you adoption happened. They don't tell you who you are.
AI usage in our industry jumped from 59% to 77% over twelve months. That's a real shift, and it happened fast. But when I look past the topline number, the more interesting finding is this: engagement with AI isn't driven by job title, seniority, or even how "techy" someone claims to be. It's driven by mindset.
Through our research, five distinct AI Engagement Personas emerged. The Tech-Forward Strategist, already three tools deep into any new workflow. The Pragmatic Problem-Solver, who wants results and has no patience for fluff. The Resourceful Realist, doing more with less because that's always been the job. The Relationship-Focused Leader, who won't let a platform replace a person. The Curious Explorer, testing the water and waiting to feel confident before diving in.
Nearly four in ten of us are Resourceful Realists. Less than one in ten are Tech-Forward Strategists. That gap matters, because it tells you the industry isn't being pulled forward by innovation. It's being pulled forward by necessity.
Knowing your persona changes how you move next.
Here's the part that should feel urgent, not just interesting. Our data shows AI adoption has outpaced workforce transformation. More than 80% of professionals will put less than 10% of their learning budget toward AI training this year. Nearly 70% will do the same with technology spend. We are using the tools faster than we are building the capability to use them well.
That gap between usage and readiness is where careers either accelerate or quietly stall. If you don't know whether you're a Curious Explorer who needs beginner-friendly use cases or a Tech-Forward Strategist who should already be mentoring your team, you're guessing at your own next step. The persona isn't a personality quiz. It's a starting point for a plan.
This is bigger than any one of us.
I didn't build this framework to hand out a fun label. I built it because I kept sitting across from talented people in this industry who felt behind, overwhelmed, or unsure where to even start with AI, and none of them needed the same thing. A Relationship-Focused Leader doesn't need the same on-ramp as a Pragmatic Problem-Solver. Generic advice was failing all of them.
The persona tells you your emotional driver, where your instincts already serve you, and what your next honest step actually looks like. It takes five minutes. It gives you language for a conversation you're probably already having with yourself about where you stand.
So take five minutes and find out.
We are one year into research that shows this industry is adopting AI faster than it's transforming around it. That gap is not going to close by accident. It closes when individuals get honest about where they actually are, and organizations start building support around real people instead of assumptions.
Take the AI Engagement Persona survey. Share it with your team. Download the full 12-Month Benchmark Report while you're there and see exactly where the industry stands.
I'd love to know which persona you land on, and whether it surprises you. Tell me in the comments.