Artificial intelligence supports business decisions but doesn’t replace human teams

A survey by Endeavor found that 59% of entrepreneurs consult the technology almost every time before making a decision. However, trust in human teams still outweighs trust in tools.

The study interviewed 133 entrepreneurs from 125 companies and is part of the series Artificial Intelligence in Brazilian Scale-Ups, developed by Endeavor with support from Salesforce and Onfly. The research also includes interviews with leaders and mentoring analyses.

Artificial intelligence supports decisions but doesn’t replace teams

Although AI is consulted frequently, entrepreneurs still place more trust in people when making decisions. According to the research, 46% trust their team more, while 35% remain neutral and 20% trust artificial intelligence more.

The data suggests that technology serves as a support for human judgment rather than a replacement. AI tools can organize information, compare scenarios, and generate hypotheses, but the final decision depends on the context and the consequences involved.

In practice, a professional can use an AI assistant to compare business proposals, summarize lengthy reports, or identify risks in a plan. However, they still need to verify the information, assess potential errors, and consider factors the tool may not be aware of.

How to decide which tasks to delegate to AI

One criterion presented by Endeavor is to consider the impact of a potential error and the difficulty of reversing a decision before delegating a task to the technology.

Operational tasks, such as organizing documents, summarizing meetings, and structuring information, can be good candidates for automation, provided the results are checked. Decisions involving hiring, performance evaluation, or strategic changes require greater human oversight.

For example, the research reports that a company had to review its use of AI in resume analysis after discovering that qualified candidates were being rejected. This case illustrates how processing speed alone does not guarantee a correct evaluation.

More productivity can mean more work

The survey also highlights a contradiction in the daily lives of those who use artificial intelligence intensively: the time saved can be converted into more tasks rather than creating space for planning and reflection.

Among entrepreneurs who use AI for six hours or more per day, 71% report maximum pressure to keep up with the technology. Among those who use it for up to two hours daily, the rate is 29%.

The association does not prove that prolonged use of AI causes pressure. However, the result draws attention to a productivity challenge: when task execution becomes faster, professionals and companies may increase the volume of deliverables and projects without reducing the workload.

To avoid this effect, technology adoption must be linked to clear priorities. Automating an activity does not necessarily mean that the freed-up time needs to be filled with new demands.

How to use AI without losing critical judgment

Applying artificial intelligence in the workplace requires more than just knowing how to use tools and write commands. It is necessary to evaluate the quality of responses, protect confidential information, and understand when a task requires human analysis.

A good starting point is to use the technology to prepare a first draft of a report, structure questions for a meeting, or synthesize documents. Then, the professional can verify the data, identify gaps, and supplement the analysis with their expertise in the field.

The work routine itself must also allow time for thinking. If every task is delegated to AI and every time saved results in more deliverables, the professional risks losing precisely the time needed to evaluate alternatives and make better decisions.