AI-driven enterprise technologies are transforming digital engagement by moving past conventional platforms and toward more interactive, connected environments. Traditional tools are no longer sufficient to meet the changing needs of modern workforces that view inclusion, connection, and a sense of shared purpose as core pillars of the work experience.
Once viewed as speculative hype, the concept of immersive experiences has matured into practical innovation, particularly in enhancing the employee experience (EX). Projected to reach $800 billion in two years, the AI-driven virtual experiences market is positioned to transform every industry.
Future-focused organizations are currently investing in immersive experience solutions to amplify professional development, internal communication, retention, and productivity. Immersive experience platforms deliver dynamic, AI-augmented environments where global teams can network, share knowledge, express creativity, and feel more aligned with their organization’s overarching objectives. These experiences combine spatial computing, presence, and interactivity to significantly enrich digital culture.
This article examines how immersive platforms reshape content and EX strategies, and why organizations must start building agile foundations to meet the demands of the future workforce.
Disrupting Work Culture to Re-Engage Employees
Employee engagement plummeted to a decade low in 2024, with just around 32% of U.S. employees indicating they feel engaged at work, according to Gallup Organization research.
Engagement refers to employees that are “involved in, enthusiastic about, and committed to their work and workplace.” Younger workers under thirty-five are driving this trend, citing lack of recognition, growth opportunities, and modern tools as top reasons for disengagement.
To address the decline, organizations are introducing AI-powered collaboration and productivity solutions that align with changing employee expectations. Among these solutions, immersive experience platforms offer purposeful spaces for strengthening company culture and connection to shared objectives.
Innovative immersive experience solutions offer sensory-rich interactions grounded in spatial memory, environmental context, and intuitive social interactions, elements that can’t be replicated by traditional productivity tools. As these platforms evolve, organizations are increasingly approaching them as strategic extensions of real-world work settings. Designed to support professional development, amplify business values, and unify culture across distributed teams, these platforms boost retention, engagement, and performance outcomes.
Immersive Virtual Solutions Offer New Professional Paths
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and EY analysis indicates that by 2032, millennials, Generation Z and Generation Alpha are expected to comprise about 70% of the U.S. workforce; already many have transitioned into leadership roles. Gen Z, more than previous generations, are redefining the EX around expectations of organizational integrity, mental health support, fair compensation, and non-linear work options.
AI-driven solutions, such as immersive experience platforms, enable organizations to establish a new roadmap for the working world and elevate employee-desired standards like well-being and workflow flexibility. Employees can leverage these digital spaces to collaborate in real-time, participate in company events, and access training programs.
Immersive experience solutions are valuable tools in incentivizing professional and personal development, expediting learning by up to three times and improving knowledge retention by up to five times. They can also decrease learning expenses by 40%, enhance productivity by 25%, and improve employee satisfaction by 10%.
One prominent example is the industry acclaimed EY immersive experience platform, WeVerse, distinguished for AI innovation in improving workplace engagement and its immersive virtual environment. Providing high-fidelity, custom immersive experience solutions designed to maximize accessibility, the solution motivates growth, purpose, creativity, and competition via engaging interactions and games.
EY WeVerse was honored for Best Experimental Design and Work & Productivity at The 2025 Annual Webby Awards for creating a virtual space pushing physical boundaries to a compelling degree. In 2025 alone, EY WeVerse was also recognized for Innovation in Internal Communications at the Ragan Employee Communications Awards; Best Use of Gamification in the Workplace at the WorkLife Awards; and Innovative AI Products at the AI Excellence Awards.
EY WeVerse is led by the EY Intelligent Realities Lab, an EY initiative that ideates, explores, and develops solutions to transform how EY and its clients operate through the convergence of advanced technologies like AI, virtual reality (VR), and augmented reality (AR). The Lab’s multiple award-winning team focuses on three primary areas, including immersive learning and employee engagement via gamified, GenAI-driven experiences like WeVerse; digital twins and synthetic simulations to accelerate robotics, industrial transformation and physical AI; and responsible AI that emphasizes humans-at-the-center technical design and development.
“The 3D internet is becoming a tangible, intelligent mirror of our world—where AI, robotics, and digital twins converge to reimagine and optimize reality in real time,” describes Steve Dalton, Creative Director, EY Intelligent Realities Lab. “As GPU power, cloud streaming, and real-time simulation become ubiquitous, technologies that were just recently in the realm of science fiction are now powering the next era of human and machine collaboration.”
EY WeVerse was rolled out to over 4,000 EY interns, offering gamified challenges, networking opportunities, and personalized professional development pathways. The solution earned the Innovation and Internal Communications achievement at the Ragan Employee Communication Awards. It’s a popular solution among EY interns, who commend the inclusive and engaging onboarding experience it delivers.
What CIOs Need to Know about Scaling Virtual Experiences
As immersive platforms shift into more extensive enterprise adoption, CIOs face the challenge of integrating these experiences into existing IT ecosystems while enabling scalability, performance, and security. Infrastructure readiness is only one facet; technology leaders must establish governance frameworks that align with the dynamic nature of virtual engagement.
EY Intelligent Realities Lab adopts a unique approach by testing and scaling solutions internally across global EY teams before client deployment. This ensures every solution is enterprise grade, with the highest standards for data security, privacy, scalability, and reliability. The Intelligent Realities team is also pioneering responsible AI frameworks that incorporate behavioral science, neuroscience, and creative thinking to maintain humans-in-the-loop by design while enabling innovative experiences.
“The collaboration between creative technologists and business leaders is essential for achieving multi-dimensional impact—social, cultural, and economic—by integrating a transformative creative lens that ensures technology aligns with human values and fosters holistic solutions for a better future,” explains Danielle McPhatter, Creative Technologist, EY Intelligent Realities Lab.
Leadership will be a critical component in ensuring these technologies are intentionally aligned with employee needs and expectations to shape human-at-the-center digital workplaces.
“The true promise of AI-enhanced immersive experiences isn’t technological, it’s human,” says Domhnaill Hernon, EY Global Intelligent Realities Lab Leader. “As enterprises build their future work environments, they must ensure immersive platforms support authentic self-expression and the full spectrum of the human experience. This extends to designing for neurodiversity, supporting identity expression, and enabling inclusive innovation.”
Leading with Humans-at-the-Center Experiences
The future of work won’t be defined by technology, but by how purposefully technology is embedded into the human experience. For CIOs and business leaders, immersive experience solutions can unleash high-value opportunities to reconceptualize how individuals contribute, learn, and evolve.
Prioritizing agency and authenticity in virtual environments will enable organizations to foster cultures with diverse talents, driving agile workforce transformation at scale.
