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Meta plans to tie employee performance reviews to their “AI-driven impact,” starting from 2026.
The change comes as the technology giant aims to incentivize AI adoption across the organization, rewarding those who achieve “exceptional” results at an individual or team level.
Employees were informed of the change by Meta’s Head of People, Janelle Gale, in an internal memo sent Thursday.
Meta makes AI usage a ‘core expectation’
In the memo, Gale explained that Meta employees will be rewarded if they score highly on AI usage.
“As we move toward an AI-native future, we want to recognize people who are helping us get there faster,” it said, per Business Insider. “For 2025, we'll reward those who made exceptional AI-driven impact, either in their own work or by improving their team's performance.”
Performance reviews will reportedly include an assessment of how employees use AI to deliver results – now a “core expectation” – and whether they build tools that help drive tangible improvements in productivity.
Metrics around individual usage and adoption will not be included in 2025 performance reviews, the memo continued, though workers could be celebrated for AI-related wins detailed in their self-reviews.
Meta’s performance review cycle for 2025 begins on December 8.
US firms increase AI expectations
Addressing the new approach to performance management, a spokesperson for the social media firm reiterated a previous comment shared with Business Insider: “It's well-known that this is a priority, and we're focused on using AI to help employees with their day-to-day work.”
Earlier in 2025, Meta changed a hiring process policy to allow applicants to use AI during coding interviews.
It has also been tracking employee usage of AI through dashboards and created an internal game – called “Level Up” – to help workers experiment with tools, rewarding them with badges as they hit milestones.
Like Meta, other prominent employers have heightened their efforts to get staff up to speed with AI usage. One Microsoft exec, for example, sent a memo informing employees that AI is “now a fundamental part of how we work” and “no longer optional.”
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Walmart’s CEO, meanwhile, recently stated that “every job” and his firm would change in some way thanks to AI.
“What we want to do is equip everybody to be able to make the most of the new tools that are available, learn, adapt, add value, drive growth - and still be a really large employer years from now,” he said.
‘AI performance assistant’
The memo from Meta’s Head of People also set out changes to the performance review process itself – namely, the rollout of an “AI Performance Assistant” to assist staff with writing reviews.
Some employees have already begun using Metamate, the company’s internal AI bot, to draft the content used in the reviews.
It follows similar steps by firms such as JPMorgan. The bank recently encouraged staff to use its in-house AI tools to draft year-end performance review content.
JPMorgan’s internal guidance emphasized that the AI-generated text should be used only as a starting point, with final reviews remaining the responsibility of the employee submitting them.
Meanwhile, Meta’s well-documented AI push has somewhat faltered in recent months.
In August, it was revealed that the company would freeze hiring for its AI division, before news in October that it would axe 600 roles across the department.
Last week, reports broke that Meta’s Chief AI Scientist plans to leave the firm.
