Taisei Corporation uses ChatGPT Enterprise as a cornerstone of HR-led talent development—helping employees learn with AI, improve daily work, and scale best practice across teams. Since rollout, Taisei reports 90% weekly active usage, 5.5+ hours saved per employee per week, and 3,300 custom GPTs created.

In most organisations, AI adoption starts in IT or a digital innovation team. Taisei took a different route.

Taisei Corporation, one of Japan’s leading construction companies, introduced ChatGPT Enterprise through HR—not as a “productivity hack”, but as a long-term investment in the people who will build the next generation of global infrastructure.

Why HR led the rollout (and why that matters)

Taisei’s premise was simple: technology eventually becomes available to everyone. Sustainable advantage comes from the people who can use it well and the culture that helps them keep learning.

That shift—from “tools” to “talent”—changed the adoption playbook. The goal wasn’t just more users. It was a company-wide environment where employees:

• learn with AI,

• push beyond perceived limits,

• and improve how work is done on the ground.

A “Middle Out” change model (built for real organisations)

To scale adoption beyond early enthusiasts, Taisei adopted a model it calls “Middle Out”—combining leadership direction with frontline energy.

The idea is practical: top-down decisions don’t automatically change day-to-day behaviour, and bottom-up enthusiasm doesn’t always spread without sponsorship and structure. The “middle” acts as the translation layer between both.

Taisei used Middle Out to design initiatives that made ChatGPT relevant to real work:

• training programmes,

• internal events,

• communities of practice,

• and hackathons.

The result: adoption spread as “something that supports my work”, not “a tool imposed by the company”.

Putting safety and trust at the centre of ChatGPT apps

As usage expanded, Taisei faced a familiar enterprise question: how do you make AI useful when information is distributed across systems—without creating risk?

Taisei worked across HR and its Information Planning function to build governance step-by-step, including:

• access controls,

• organised usage logs,

• an education programme,

• and ongoing monitoring.

Crucially, the intent wasn’t to restrict experimentation. It was to explain why controls exist and create an environment where people feel safe enough to use AI consistently.

The results (measurable adoption + cultural shift)

Since rolling out ChatGPT Enterprise, Taisei reports:

• 90% weekly active usage

• More than 5.5 hours saved per employee each week (≈ 260 hours per person per year)

• 3,300 custom GPTs created

• 3,800 projects created

• 99% of users want to continue using ChatGPT Enterprise

Beyond the metrics, Taisei describes a cultural change: younger employees using AI to perform at a higher level earlier, and experienced employees recognising AI as a way to accelerate the next generation.

What other organisations can learn from Taisei

Taisei’s approach is a repeatable blueprint for enterprise adoption—especially in traditional industries.

1) Anchor on a business capability, not a tool

Make the “why” clear: talent, safety, speed of learning, or quality—not just efficiency.

2) Build adoption around real work

Train people on their workflows, not on generic prompting. Promote examples that make employees think, “That’s my job.”

3) Use a change model that scales

Middle Out-style enablement works: leadership sponsorship + frontline momentum + a translation layer in the middle.

4) Treat governance as an enabler

Permissions, logging, and monitoring are how you scale experimentation responsibly.

5) Track measurable outcomes

Weekly active use, hours saved, custom GPT creation, and retention intent are practical KPIs that show whether AI is becoming normalised.

Summary & next steps

Taisei’s rollout shows what happens when AI adoption is treated as a human capability programme: high usage, strong creation of internal tools (custom GPTs), and a culture that learns.

Next step: If you want to design an HR-led adoption programme—governance, enablement, and measurable outcomes—Generation Digital can help.

FAQs

What is Taisei Corporation’s main use of ChatGPT?

Taisei uses ChatGPT Enterprise as a cornerstone of HR-led talent development, helping employees learn with AI and improve day-to-day work.

How does ChatGPT benefit Taisei’s employees?

It provides a safe environment to experiment, get real-time support, and improve outputs—contributing to reported time savings and high adoption.

What results has Taisei reported?

Taisei reports 90% weekly active use, 5.5+ hours saved per employee per week, 3,300 custom GPTs created, 3,800 projects created, and 99% of users wanting to continue.

Is ChatGPT used in other areas of Taisei’s business?

The OpenAI case study focuses on HR-led talent development and adoption, with broader productivity and workflow use emerging across teams.