How U.S. Companies Are Redesigning Teams for an AI-Enabled Future

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Jan 05, 2026, 08:31 ET

As artificial intelligence reshapes how work gets done, U.S. enterprises are rethinking workforce design. While some tasks are becoming automated, organizations are also creating and expanding roles focused on guiding, managing, and scaling AI-enabled workflows. Increasingly, companies are pairing AI with distributed, highly skilled global talent to extend capacity, reduce burnout, and stay competitive. 1840 & Company helps businesses build these blended, AI-enabled teams by connecting them with vetted professionals worldwide who complement and support U.S.-based leadership.

OVERLAND PARK, Kan., Jan. 5, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- As artificial intelligence becomes embedded across business operations, workforce leaders are shifting their focus from headcount reduction to role redesign and capacity expansion. According to Bryan DiGiorgio, Founder and CEO of 1840 & Company, the most effective organizations are not viewing AI as a replacement for people, but as a catalyst for building more flexible, distributed teams that combine automation with human expertise.

"AI is accelerating how work flows through an organization, but it does not eliminate the need for skilled people," said DiGiorgio. "What we're seeing is companies becoming more intentional about who does what. U.S.-based teams are increasingly focused on strategy, innovation, and leadership, while global professionals support execution, analytics, and operational scale."

1840 & Company, a global staffing and business process outsourcing provider, works with U.S. enterprises navigating this transition by helping them design workforce models that integrate AI tools with highly skilled global talent. The result is not fewer people, but better-aligned teams built for speed, resilience, and growth.

AI Is Changing Roles, Not Eliminating the Need for Talent

While headlines often focus on AI-driven disruption, many companies are discovering that automation alone cannot deliver outcomes without human oversight, contextual judgment, and domain expertise. In practice, organizations adopting AI most successfully are those that pair technology investments with investments in people who can manage, interpret, and improve AI-enabled workflows.

Rather than rebuilding teams in the same way as before, hiring leaders are increasingly tapping global talent pools to access specialized skills that remain scarce and expensive domestically. This approach allows companies to expand capacity without overextending U.S.-based teams or slowing growth due to local talent shortages.

"AI works best when it amplifies people," DiGiorgio explained. "The organizations pulling ahead are blending automation with globally distributed professionals who know how to work alongside these systems. That combination unlocks efficiency without sacrificing quality."

Global Talent Is No Longer Limited to Support Functions

Advances in cloud infrastructure, collaboration platforms, and AI-enabled workflows have fundamentally changed how distributed teams operate. As a result, offshoring and nearshoring are no longer confined to transactional or back-office roles.

Today, enterprises are hiring global professionals for roles such as data analysis, financial modeling, customer experience optimization, marketing operations, and technical support for AI systems. These teams integrate directly into core business functions while remaining aligned with U.S.-based leadership and decision-making.

By pairing automation with skilled global execution, companies can achieve significant operational leverage. Many organizations are finding that combining AI with distributed talent models can realize substantially greater efficiency gains than those relying on automation or labor arbitrage alone.

"The outdated perception that offshore talent is lower quality simply doesn't reflect reality," said DiGiorgio. "With the right vetting, management, and technology, global teams perform at the same level as domestic ones and often bring valuable perspectives that strengthen outcomes."

Building Resilient, Distributed Workforces

This shift toward blended teams is impacting multiple industries, according to IBM:

Technology and Financial Services organizations are using global analysts and operations specialists to support AI-driven insights while keeping core strategy in-house.
Healthcare companies are leveraging global administrative and data professionals to improve efficiency and reduce clinician burnout.
Customer Experience teams are combining AI-powered tools with globally distributed agents who manage complex interactions and escalations.

1840 & Company supports these models by sourcing, vetting, and managing skilled professionals across more than 150 countries, while handling compliance, payroll, and workforce infrastructure. This allows U.S. companies to scale distributed teams quickly and confidently without operational complexity.

"The future of work isn't AI versus people or domestic versus global," DiGiorgio concluded. "It's about designing teams that use the best of both. When AI and human expertise work together across borders, companies gain speed, flexibility, and a real competitive advantage."

About 1840 & Company

Bryan DiGiorgio is the Founder and CEO of 1840 & Company, a global staffing and business process outsourcing provider headquartered in Overland Park, Kansas. Transitioning between industrial revolutions, the year 1840 inspired the company's focus on helping businesses excel between their different phases of growth. Today, he leads 1840 & Company in helping businesses scale with flexible talent solutions, from nearshore/offshore staffing to complete business process outsourcing solutions. With a proprietary Agentic AI global talent cloud, 1840 & Company sources, contracts, compensates and operates in 150+ countries delivering workforce solutions that reduce costs, ensure compliance, and accelerate growth.

For more information, visit 1840 & Company.

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