For many companies, finding skilled technical workers is like spotting a polar bear in a snowstorm: difficult, urgent, and with a lot on the line. The challenge has only increased in recent years, owing to factors like mass retirements and fewer young people pursuing trade professions. While traditional solutions such as financial incentives and upskilling have provided some relief, they often fall short.
And it’s not just hiring skilled labor that’s a problem. Training, retention, morale—even worker well-being—are major concerns. A 2024 study by UKG, an HR and workforce management solutions company, found that 83% of Gen Z frontline employees feel burned out and more than a third may quit because of it. When these younger workers leave, it’s a double blow. Companies not only lose their next generation but also the opportunity for knowledge transfer, which is crucial as retirements shrink the veteran ranks.
So what’s the solution? These days, the go-to answer for seemingly every problem is artificial intelligence. And to be sure, AI has revolutionized work processes, boosting the efficiency, speed, and precision of countless tasks. But frontline workers add a twist. Unlike desk-based employees, they don’t have easy access to keyboards, screens, and computing power. They have limited digital tools at their disposal and need their hands free to perform their jobs. For these workers, AI has to come off the desk and into the field, via wearable devices.
Extended reality (XR) technologies make that happen. And they are more practical and capable than ever—provided companies have a smart plan for deployment and scaling.
Take AI Off the Desk and into the Field
XR devices integrate digital information into real-world contexts—say the repair of a jet engine. They do this by leveraging cameras, voice, connectivity, and interactive experiences (using locative technology to pinpoint the location of people and objects). But the special sauce is AI. Computer vision lets XR systems understand and analyze objects the user sees. GenAI creates text and 3D images to guide and accelerate work. The mobile, hands-free devices enhance training, knowledge transfer, and in-the-field performance. (See the exhibit.) They make frontline work more efficient and less tedious, benefiting worker and organization alike.
First movers are already seeing significant improvements in their operations, with companies reporting a 20% reduction in equipment downtime and a 50% decrease in revisit rates. XR-augmented workers have demonstrated 20% greater efficiency—and sometimes more—than nonaugmented counterparts and make 40% to 50% fewer errors. Perhaps most crucially, training times have been cut in half, allowing businesses to transition technicians from instruction to fieldwork faster.
In easing the pain points for technical workers, XR also helps companies deliver on the promise—the value creation —of AI. Realizing AI’s potential has proved difficult for many organizations. A 2024 BCG global study found that only 26% of companies are creating real value from AI. There are a lot of reasons that number is low: legacy IT architecture, inefficient processes, too little focus on change management, to name a few. But a key cause is the scattershot approach many companies take. AI comes in a variety of forms and applications. Where do you target your efforts? BCG’s 2025 AI Radar survey, which polled 1,803 C-level executives, found that most organizations prioritize small-scale, productivity-centered initiatives, but for the AI leaders, it’s all about finding what matters most. These companies allocate more than 80% of their AI spending to reshaping key functions and inventing new offerings. They invest strategically, concentrating on a few high-priority opportunities.
For many companies, frontline work is clearly an essential function. Deskless workers make up 70% to 80% of the global workforce, or roughly 2.7 billion people. They’re crucial to industries such as health care, manufacturing, retail, and logistics. Directing planned AI investments toward reshaping frontline work is a significant opportunity for organizations.
Consider the case of a national railway company that was upgrading and refurbishing 100 trains. Complicating the process: each train was configured uniquely and almost all documentation was on paper. Technicians frequently needed to reference physical manuals, seek out tools whose use they hadn’t anticipated, and then put their tools down to sign off on completing each step. All of this slowed the workers’ pace. Hampering progress even more: the days (and sometimes weeks) that passed before managers understood what work had been done and where rework might be required.
XR has changed that. Through wearable devices, technicians can scan the number on the side of the train car and bring up—in their field of view—the work being done on that car. They can see the tasks assigned to them, access digital overlays of procedures, and select options to generate tool lists and sort tasks in the most efficient order. Workers can interact with the device as well as remote experts through voice, giving them immediate, in-context access to the content and advice they need, when they need it. And all the while, they have their hands free to do the work.
Within a month of implementation, the gains were apparent. In time tests, the railway discovered that experienced technicians increased their efficiency by 20%, while newer workers saw a 27% to 29% bump. By applying XR technology not only to refurbishment but also to repair and maintenance work, the company expects to save roughly $200 million over five years.
XR Is Ready for Its Close-Up
Despite the promise of XR, adoption has been slow. A big roadblock: cumbersome technology. Traditional XR headsets tended to be bulky; wearing them for extended periods of time was impractical and could cause neck pain and eye strain. Cost, bandwidth constraints, and optical system limitations added to the downside.
But recent advances in miniaturization, connectivity, and AI have been a boon for XR’s value proposition. Of particular note: the emergence of a new class of devices, known as light immersion (LI) wearables. LI smart glasses (such as Meta Ray-Ban and XReal Air) and mini-displays (from companies like RealWear) provide lower resolution than traditional XR headsets but offer frontline workers an ultraportable, highly functional alternative to the old-school gear. These devices are gaining traction. LI smart glasses are expected to account for 34% of total revenues in the augmented reality device market by 2028.
Recent advances in miniaturization, connectivity, and AI have been a boon for XR’s value proposition.
As XR technology becomes more practical, adoption rates will rise. In a December 2024 briefing, AR Intelligence estimated that enterprise spending on XR-driven productivity will grow from $9.07 billion in 2023 to $15.1 billion in 2028 and sales of XR headsets will increase from 6.84 million units to 11.66 million units.
Companies Can Get Ready Too
Adoption doesn’t necessarily equal success, however. Many organizations have experimented with XR but failed to scale it effectively. In our experience, companies that get XR right—improving the efficiency, training, precision, and even drive of their technical workers—embrace four core principles:
- Concentrate on the business value, not the device. Too often, XR initiatives start with a focus on headsets. And little wonder. The futuristic-looking gear makes for compelling tech demos; Hollywood sci-fi hits the workplace. But the real starting point should be a business challenge to solve. Companies that succeed don’t find a problem that fits their technology. They find a technology that fits their problem. That means beginning by defining a business priority—and only then determining if XR is the best solution.
- Design for functionality across a wide set of use cases. Industry leaders in AI adoption take a broad approach, reshaping entire processes rather than individual tasks. XR solutions that are adaptable across multiple functions—whether for maintenance technicians, insurance field adjusters, or surgeons—are far easier to scale.
- Prioritize features that intended users will value. If the solution does not provide clear benefits to frontline workers, they will not adopt it, regardless of the business value XR can create. The key is ensuring that XR makes employees’ jobs easier, supports career advancement, and responds to the needs that frontline users have identified. Savvy companies bring workers into the design, planning, and testing phases. They get their input—and feedback. Consider again the railway company. One of the most important things it did was to foster co-creation, right from the start. Working with frontline technicians, the organization identified the most tedious, annoying, and inefficient steps across maintenance, repair, and refurbishment processes. This helped it maximize both the impact of the XR solution and employee adoption.
- Incorporate XR into the company’s tech ecosystem. AI needs to be integrated seamlessly with institutional knowledge, ERP systems, data, and security structures. XR should function as an extension of these systems, to deliver relevant data to workers—safely and reliably—in real time.
XR is more capable and more practical than ever. Companies that deploy it smartly—zeroing in on value, sparking adoption, facilitating scaling—can be better than ever, too. They can unlock new levels of productivity while reducing costs and strengthening their deskless workforce. From repair technicians to retail stockers, frontline workers not only become more efficient through XR but also more empowered. And they can help drive a sustainable advantage in an increasingly digital world.
The authors thank Julia Dhar, Nicolas de Bellefonds, Eugene Hayden, Dutch MacDonald, Adriann Negreros, Marcus Pinnau, Brandon Procak, Christoph Schmidt, and Hunkar Toyoglu for their contributions to this article.
