How AI hardware personas can unlock workforce efficiency

  • Blog
  • 6 minute read
  • April 01, 2025

Kim David Greenwood

Principal, PwC US

Eric Bauswell

Principal, PwC US

Six personas that stand to gain the most from on-device AI — and how your enterprise should look to identify these personas within your business.

Emerging global trends, such as growing geopolitical tensions, increasing reliance on cloud providers and next-gen software compatibility, underscore the growing urgency to adopt AI-enabled hardware. As a result, leading enterprises are investing in building AI-first ecosystems to align hardware, software and people to new ways of working. Keep in mind, however, that not every role within a business will experience the AI revolution in the same way.

We’ve identified six user personas for AI-powered devices to help your organization better define its specific needs and understand how hardware innovations can help your teams succeed.

By understanding these personas, business leaders — whether CIOs, BDMs or department heads — can better plan for the various implementation, change management and process considerations that must be accounted for to build an AI-centric strategy. While these personas represent some of the most likely users, the benefits of AI-powered devices — combined with an understanding of how AI can change the nature of work overall — extend beyond these groups and can bring value to all types of professionals. In PwC’s 28th Annual Global CEO Survey, more than half of the CEOs (56%) responding told us that AI has resulted in efficiencies in how employees use their time, while a third reported increased revenue (32%) and profitability (34%). With that in mind, let’s explore these personas, how they’re likely to benefit from these devices and the sectors where these users are most commonly found.1

1. Frontline workers use AI for rapid decision-making and information location. These workers rely on edge computing to generate next-best actions, streamline interactions and reduce friction at every stage of the user interaction, whether in sales, support or logistics. This persona also values the improved system performance of an AI-powered device to make sure AI-enabled software runs smoothly and enables seamless multitasking.

  • Sales reps using AI-driven next-best-action recommendations to manage schedules, suggest optimal responses and handle follow-ups
  • Call center agents providing more personalized customer interactions through real-time response suggestions and sentiment analysis to reduce resolution time
  • Retail and hospitality employees enhancing the point-of-sale experience for customers by quickly checking inventory/availability and suggesting products
  • Basic information workers leveraging AI features to process information faster, communicate better and work more efficiently

2. Offline workers often operate in restricted or limited-network environments using on-device AI compute to deliver accurate insights without an internet connection. These users need fast, reliable performance to streamline day-to-day tasks in the field or remote areas. This persona also values the improved battery life and reduced latency of critical software that an AI-powered device provides.

  • Warehouse staff using devices to locate inventory, identify stockouts and process orders where Wi-Fi-connectivity is spotty
  • Field technicians (utilities, telecom) needing localized data insights to troubleshoot equipment and track signals without access to Wi-Fi or cellular service
  • Other off-the-grid workers (agricultural/farming, oil rigs/mining) benefit from on-device compute for a variety of tasks in remote locations

3. Data workers prioritize data security and work in sectors with confidential data like healthcare, finance and legal. These workers use AI directly on their device to avoid cloud AI applications that could pose data sovereignty or compliance risks and to safeguard customer and organizational data from unauthorized model training and regulatory violations. This persona also values improved offline performance, enabling secure AI functionality even in isolated or restricted network environments.

  • Healthcare providers using AI to summarize patient notes, generate reports and recommend treatments without using cloud-based models
  • Finance professionals using secure, on-device AI assistants to analyze client data, generate reports and provide insights
  • Legal professionals processing large amounts of information during discovery while confirming no confidential data is leaked

4. Designers focus on harnessing AI for dynamic visual workflows such as real-time editing, image augmentation and seamless content creation. This persona specifically prioritizes using AI tools that help speed up iterations for complex designs and immersive experiences. This user also values the reduced latency that comes with running AI tasks on a device, allowing them to iterate faster on complex visual projects.

  • Graphic designers using rapid iterations of generative AI on-device to accelerate the design cycle and come up with innovative ideas
  • Video editors processing large video files on-device, using compute to enable nonlinear workflows, automating captioning, color correction and transcoding
  • Marketing teams producing compelling brand content through rapid iteration of written copy and graphics for specific customer segments or locales

5. Developers use AI to handle data-intensive workloads and code development. These users thrive on enhancing accuracy and boosting efficiency by running small-language models on-device. This persona also values the increased data security that an AI-powered device provides to confirm their sensitive information is safeguarded against cyber threats and unauthorized access.

  • Software developers using AI assistants to recommend data structures, implementation details and test cases to ship code in record time
  • Data analysts processing large datasets (structured or unstructured) and exploring different cuts of data without lag between queries
  • Financial analysts using predictive modeling for strategic decision-making based on historical data for supply chains, revenue and sales, or operational data

6. Executives and power workers value efficiency above all, leveraging AI-powered devices to streamline everyday tasks and increase productivity. This persona depends on AI for rapid information retrieval, inbox and file searches, note summarization, and meeting transcription to save valuable time. For this user, time is money, and they therefore require seamless multitasking and all-day battery life to support their work without interruptions.

  • Executives using AI to quickly search inboxes, summarize lengthy emails and draft quick, professional responses
  • Consultants relying on AI-generated meeting summaries and action items to improve client engagements
  • Project managers using AI to organize schedules, summarize progress updates and prioritize tasks

Enterprises ought to look within to identify which of these personas employees resonate with, and plan upgrades accordingly. Understanding how various users within an organization will look to use AI is a critical input to launching a transformation and managing change.

Learn more about how AI-driven hardware is redefining the future of work — and why you can’t afford to sit on the sidelines. Check it out here.

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