Disney employees may have AI to thank for their next raise.
The Mouse House encouraged employees to use AI ahead of their annual reviews, including by suggesting that they ask chatbots to generate their goals and ways they can improve in the year ahead.
This is the latest instance of Disney’s internal AI push and is an example of how big corporations, including tech giants like Meta and Amazon, are using the AI tools they’ve invested in to shake up performance reviews or rethink how to evaluate employees.
Companies are “trying desperately to find value from the AI that they’ve paid a lot of money for,” said Sarah Franklin, the CEO of HR software firm Lattice.
Here are some examples of Disney’s suggested AI prompts for annual reviews, according to an internal document viewed by Business Insider:
- “Given my role [insert your role/title], help me create three ambitious, specific, and measurable goals that are in alignment with my team’s overall business objectives [insert team FY26 objectives].”
- “Given my development areas from last year [list development areas from FY25 end-of-year summary], write me one goal for this year that would support my development.”
- “Generate a goal that would help me improve how I display [insert one of the Disney People Leadership Expectations or Disney Values].”
The document told staffers they can use Disney-sanctioned AI tools, such as Microsoft Copilot, as “a brainstorming partner” while preparing for their annual reviews. Chatbots “can inspire and support” while refining the tone and wording of responses, the document said, though it discouraged workers from outsourcing their thinking for self-assessments entirely.
“While AI acts as an accelerator for idea generation, you remain responsible and accountable for ensuring you and your leader are aligned on the right priorities,” the document said.
Disney has been leaning into AI by making an AI adoption dashboard and allowing companies to create AI-generated ads for Disney+. CEO Josh D’Amaro is prioritizing tech and, in mid-September, hired the company’s first-ever chief tech officer. He came from the AI video startup Character.AI.
D’Amaro told employees in a recent memo that “technology in service of creativity” is one of his three priorities as CEO.
The pros and cons of AI-assisted reviews
AI is most effective during annual reviews when it helps employees summarize individual and team achievements from the past year, said Greg Summers, the CEO of recruiting firm Orion Talent.
“Instead of trying to remember what you did and how to frame that, it can give you more time to spend on the goals going forward,” Summers said.
That fits in with some of Disney’s messaging. A Disney software engineer said their manager encouraged them to use AI to “go through all our work from the past year” so they could get their reviews done on time.
“Normally, it’s a very manual process that can take a lot of time,” this person said.
Although AI can knock hours off the annual review process for both employees and managers, it also carries risks.
“When everyone’s review is written by AI, everyone sounds great, and it gets harder to tell real excellence from generic praise,” said Chris Dellarocas, a Boston University business professor who’s written about how generative AI is changing performance reviews at work.
And if enough employees prepare for their annual reviews by following the prompts Disney suggested, managers could be inundated with generic, AI-generated responses.
“If you have an AI prompt generate goals, you’re going to have very similar goals across the team, and that’s going to be a challenge for the manager,” said Elijah Wee, a management professor at the University of Washington.
As companies turn to AI to make work processes, like annual reviews, more efficient, Franklin said they should ensure they’re “not outsourcing human judgment.”
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