AI and OKRs: Measuring What Really Matters
OKRs are everywhere. They’re the go-to framework for setting goals, aligning teams, and measuring progress. And for the most part, they work.
But there’s a catch.
Most OKRs focus on what’s easy to measure—revenue, churn, hiring metrics. These are tangible, quantifiable, and conveniently stored in dashboards.
What about the less visible forces that drive those numbers? Team energy, alignment, and momentum—these are the real drivers of success, yet they’re often overlooked because they’re harder to quantify.
Organizations turn to tools like pulse surveys or ENPS scores to gauge these dynamics. But these tools only offer a snapshot—not a continuous, real-time understanding of what’s happening.
That’s left me wondering: could AI help us do better? Could it provide the insights we’ve been missing and enable us to track what really matters in our organizations?
The Problem: Why We Measure What’s Easy
Think about the last OKRs your team set. Chances are, they included metrics like revenue growth, customer retention, or hiring targets. These are critical metrics, but they’re also the low-hanging fruit of goal-setting.
Why? Because they’re easy to measure.
But here’s the problem: they’re lagging indicators. They tell us what happened but not why it happened—or what’s likely to happen next.
Consider these examples:
Your sales team hits its revenue target, but morale is quietly dropping. Why?
Your product team launches new features, but customer satisfaction stays flat. Where’s the disconnect?
The truth is, we default to measuring what’s countable—even if it doesn’t give us the full picture of what’s really happening. This leaves critical dynamics like alignment, motivation, and team energy invisible—and unaddressed.
How AI Could Change the Game
Here’s where AI could step in and make a real difference.
Imagine a tool that doesn’t just track numbers but analyzes the dynamics shaping your team’s success. Instead of relying on pulse surveys or waiting for quarterly reviews, AI could deliver real-time insights like:
“Your team is 70% aligned, but conversations are drifting in X and Y areas.”
“Momentum has dipped this month—focus on Z to regain traction.”
What AI Could Do:
AI could transform unstructured data—like Slack conversations, meeting notes, and team feedback—into actionable insights.
And it could go even further. With AI-powered OKRs, organizations could:
Track alignment: Are teams focusing on the right priorities?
Monitor energy levels: How motivated and engaged are team members?
Measure momentum: Are teams moving forward, or are they stuck?
By quantifying these qualitative factors, AI could give leaders a clearer, more holistic view of what’s happening across their organizations—and help them make smarter, faster decisions.
The Benefits of AI in OKRs
AI doesn’t just offer more data; it provides better data. Here’s how:
1. Real-Time Insights
Most tools for measuring team health are reactive. They tell you what happened after the fact. AI flips the script by surfacing insights as they happen.
Imagine knowing, in real time, that a team is losing traction—or that morale is dipping—before it becomes a crisis. With AI, leaders can act before small issues escalate into bigger problems.
2. Measuring the Intangible
For functions like HR or strategy, where traditional metrics don’t exist, AI offers a way to measure progress. Sentiment analysis could reveal shifts in team motivation. Topic analysis could assess whether discussions are aligned with priorities.
This levels the playing field, allowing all teams to track their contributions meaningfully.
3. Smarter Goal Adjustments
How often do you set an OKR, only to realize halfway through the cycle that it needs to change? AI makes mid-cycle adjustments intuitive and informed.
By spotting patterns and trends, AI could suggest recalibrating a goal, adjusting a timeline, or reallocating resources—ensuring goals stay relevant even as priorities shift.
But Would Teams Trust AI?
Here’s the challenge: would people trust AI to measure something as nuanced as team dynamics?
Skepticism is inevitable. Concepts like alignment and momentum are subjective, and there’s a valid concern that AI might misinterpret tone or context.
How Trust Can Be Built:
Transparency: Teams need to understand how AI generates its insights—and have opportunities to provide feedback or context.
Human Judgment: Leaders must use AI as a complement to human decision-making, not as a replacement.
With the right safeguards, AI could earn trust by consistently surfacing insights that feel accurate, actionable, and aligned with reality.
Closing Thoughts
OKRs have always been about focus and alignment. But too often, they’re limited by the metrics we can easily measure.
AI offers a chance to rethink that. By quantifying intangible factors like alignment and energy, it could unlock a new era of smarter, more adaptive OKRs.
But this isn’t just about technology—it’s about evolving how we approach goal-setting. It requires leaders to embrace new ways of thinking, trust less tangible insights, and adapt more fluidly when priorities shift.
The real opportunity is to build OKRs that reflect not just what teams are doing but how they’re doing it.
