"We soon realised that we were going to have to move 250,000 people within three days ... to work from home."

Accenture used bots and AI to determine whether staff could work from home effectively as well as to help streamline workloads during COVID-19.

"Previously it would require a human to decide where to route those problems and what we've found now is that AI can take over that role extremely accurately and be able to start to augment and route the workload across our workforce and we're using that a lot right now to be able to balance the workload across various teams," Mr Higgins said.

Vanessa Sulikowski said AI technology won't replace workers but will assist in post-pandemic workplaces. Janie Barrett

Vanessa Sulikowski from Cisco predicts artificial intelligence could come to play a hugely beneficial role in the post-pandemic workplace.

"So areas like health and safety, wellness, personal productivity, engagement, inclusiveness and nurturing talent," she said.

"How can AI technology assist us in these areas now that we will all be working distributed and working across different workspaces?"

AI may also have a role to play in helping to ensure staff feel safe when they return to the workplace, such as determining if rooms need cleaning, helping to adhere to social distancing guidelines or voice technology as part of contactless office solutions.

Dr Sue Keay, from CSIRO's Data 61, told the panel there had been a surge in demand for AI solutions and robotics technologies to give companies an edge during the pandemic.

"Mainly to increase efficiency but also to capture data and to help with better decision-making," she said.

"This is something I think we really need to grasp with both hands and try and make the most of this opportunity."

But it was vital employers supported workers in using or upskilling in such technology so "it can augment their potential rather than being seen as a threat".

AI could also help boost productivity or determine how engaged an employee is, according to Ms Sulikowski.

"Using metadata to determine what it is you actually focus on: what messages do you respond to most quickly, who are the people you work with frequently, what are the meetings you never miss and what are you ignoring," she said.

"It can determine if my communication habits have changed, and my gestures and tone and sentiment is different. Am I potentially lonely? Is that a signal for my manager to check in?"

NBN's Kathrine Dyer: "It's unquestionable that we're on the very verge of a very profound change to the way Australians live and work."Janie Barrett

Research by NBN Co found that 81 per cent of Australians who have been working from home reported it has been a positive experience.

"It's unquestionable that we're on the very verge of a very profound change to the way Australians live and work," Kathrine Dyer, from NBN Co, told the Future Briefing on Tuesday.

Figures from NBN Co reveal workers have been using 70 per cent of data during the day and during peak period, downloads have increased by up to 32 per cent compared with pre-COVID-19.

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More room for robots in the post-pandemic workplace - The Australian Financial Review