GÖPPINGEN, Germany — October 7, 2026 — Middle managers are almost twice as likely as executive leaders to want a human involved when AI is resolving IT issues that could affect security, data, or business operations (46% vs. 24%), according to research from TeamViewer, a leading provider of digital workplace solutions. The findings point to a disconnect inside organisations: the people closest to AI-driven work want more oversight of it than the leaders setting the strategy.
Security concerns shape willingness to hand over more control
Workers become more cautious as systems gain greater autonomy. Nearly a third (30%) of workers say security risks or unauthorised access are among their biggest concerns about AI acting without a human in the loop. That concern is cited by 33% of both middle and senior managers, compared with 23% of executive leaders. Limiting what AI can access is one control that could help build confidence. More than four in ten (42%) of senior managers say this would make them more comfortable with AI fixing problems at work on its own, compared with 37% of middle managers and 32% of executive leaders.
"Security cannot be added after autonomy is introduced. The more authority an AI system has, the more important it is that its actions are transparent and that clear boundaries define when human approval is required,” said Jan Bee, CISO at TeamViewer. “Business leaders should also not assume that their own comfort with autonomy is shared across the organisation. That principle guides our AI features: actions are recorded, customers retain visibility, and system-altering actions require approval so that people remain in control.”
Attitudes also differ significantly by industry. Almost half (49%) of workers in energy, utilities, and oil and gas want human involvement when AI resolves IT issues that could affect security, data, or business operations, compared with 28% in marketing, media, and communications.
Visibility and access controls can build confidence
The findings support this. Almost four in ten (39%) workers say strong security and privacy protections would make them more comfortable allowing AI to fix problems autonomously. This rises to 46% among senior managers and 43% among middle managers, compared with 34% of executive leaders.
Workers also point to specific guardrails that could build confidence. More than a third (36%) want limits on what AI can access before allowing it to act independently, while 73% say they are more likely to trust AI when it shows what it is doing and why. 70% are also comfortable with AI taking action, as long as they are able to step in when needed.
With 51% of workers saying they do not always know when to trust AI and when to verify its output, businesses need clear frameworks that define when AI can act autonomously, when additional oversight is required, and when human judgement must remain the final authority.
Accountability remains unclear
Only 49% say accountability is clear when autonomous systems make mistakes, and little consensus exists on where responsibility should sit. 26% place responsibility on IT, 25% on themselves, while 17% believe no one should be responsible because it is a system. These responses show that employees do not share a common understanding of who owns the outcome when AI acts; they do not remove the need for organizations to define accountability.
About the report
The study was conducted by Sapio Research on behalf of TeamViewer in April and May 2026, among 4,200 respondents across 9 markets: the U.S., the U.K., Australia, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Singapore, and Brazil. Respondents included an even split of managers and employees across industries and company sizes. The full report is available here: https://www.teamviewer.com/en/resources/reports/autonomous-digital-workplace/