# Federal Agencies Assess AI Adoption Barriers

Starting in 2026, federal agencies must administer their own annual employee surveys, creating a way to identify why employees may hesitate to use authorized AI tools—not just whether those tools are available or being used. Agencies should coordinate human-capital, AI, and IT leaders on survey design, privacy protections, and any required OMB approvals. The results could shape AI deployment, workforce communications, and mission-focused training; the signal identifies no specific solicitation or contract award.

- Federal contractors supporting AI implementation may find a need for survey design, privacy, workforce analytics, and mission-focused training services, although no procurement opportunity or funding is identified.
- Agencies should coordinate survey planning across human-capital, AI, and IT functions and address applicable privacy protections and OMB approval needs.
- Firms serving federal AI programs can use the survey focus on employee adoption barriers to inform deployment and training approaches, rather than treating tool availability or usage alone as measures of adoption.

**Jurisdictions:** federal
**Industries:** Information Technology
**Topics:** Artificial Intelligence
**Published:** October 15, 2026

### Government Entities
- Office of Management and Budget (OMB)

### Sources
- [Federal AI adoption metrics miss the human factor | FedScoop](https://fedscoop.com/federal-ai-adoption-the-human-factor) - FedScoop