At the 2026 IFA Convention in Las Vegas, a session on “AI & Human Co-Working” signaled a clear shift in how franchise leaders are thinking about technology.

It’s not a replacement for people, but a powerful partner designed to enhance field performance, streamline support, and redefine how work gets done across the system.

Scott Klososky, founder of Future Point of View, opened with a clear premise: “We’re living through an explosion of synthetic intelligence alongside human intelligence. The real question isn’t whether AI will change the workforce — it’s how,” he said.

He introduced the “Humology Scale,” a framework that measures how integrated humans and technology are across processes and organizations, ranging from mostly human to partly augmented, fully augmented, and ultimately automated. By 2030, he noted, AI tools are expected to write 85 percent of code, rising to 95 percent by 2035. Yet the human role doesn’t disappear. Instead, it evolves into an orchestrator, “guiding, managing, and applying AI tools in fields like legal, accounting, operations, and franchise support.”

Klososky broke intelligence into four parts: knowledge, reasoning, creativity, and self-learning. He said AI excels at knowledge and self-learning. Humans dominate in reasoning and creativity. The opportunity for franchises lies in hybrid intelligence: combining both to expand capability. Used well, AI can effectively raise the organization’s “IQ.” Used poorly, overreliance can dull human skills.

Ashley Dembowski, SVP, customer solutions, of Compass International Holdings, said, “AI is not a story of replacement; it’s a story about augmentation.” Her company uses AI to automate routine tasks — intake triage, routing, sentiment detection, scheduling, summary creation, and franchise agreement overviews — while keeping humans focused on judgment calls, complex operational guidance, contract interpretation, and sensitive conversations.

Doing so resulted in higher satisfaction scores, improved reply times, better one-touch resolution rates, and increased repeat usage. By pairing automation with high-touch consulting, Dembowski said, the brand reduced personnel costs by 35 percent while maintaining service levels, a notable shift in how franchise support can be structured.

The key takeaway was that AI works best when it handles repetitive and data-heavy tasks, freeing field teams to focus on coaching, strategy, and relationship building.

Corey Benish, president and CEO of Home Franchise Concepts, provided a real-world example of using AI at Kitchen Tune-Up. The brand developed and deployed an AI-powered “sales coaching app” that can be used to record in-home sales meetings conducted by franchisees. The AI analyzes conversations and provides data-driven feedback, and human sales coaches can follow up with personalized guidance.

The strategy has delivered results. Benish explained how one franchisee grew sales from $111,000 to $375,000 in 90 days. AI accelerated skill development by identifying patterns across recordings, and human coaching translated insight into behavioral change. The tool wasn’t mandated by the brand, he said, but adoption grew organically as franchisees saw tangible results.

Klososky wrapped things up by describing the “organizational mind.” He described a future where AI agents and humans collaborate seamlessly, with oversight systems monitoring performance, onboarding accelerating, and synthetic experts augmenting teams. In this hybrid workforce, machines handle what they do best (from mundane to highly complex analysis), while humans lead with empathy, creativity, and strategic judgment.

There was a practical message for franchisors: Don’t think in terms of replacement, but in orchestration. The brands that thrive will be those that intentionally design collaboration between humans and AI. They will build smarter systems, stronger field teams, and ultimately, more competitive franchise networks.

Kerry Pipes is the director, executive editor at Franchise Update Media.