PerformanceX debuts AI platform that scores employee communications

Summary

Chicago-based startup PerformanceX has launched an AI-driven performance platform that monitors workplace communications—email, Slack, Zoom calls and phone recordings—to generate weekly scorecards for employees. Rather than keylogging or screen-scraping, the tool analyses existing communication streams against company-defined criteria for what "good" performance looks like, surfacing both standout contributions and early signs of burnout or disengagement. The founders say TikTok promotion unexpectedly drew demand from workers themselves, who want objective evidence of their effort when they feel overshadowed by louder colleagues in promotion cycles. Beta customers report that the system can highlight overworked employees whose distress went unnoticed until they quit, reframing monitoring as documentation of overload rather than mere surveillance. Still, some companies pulled out over culture concerns, underscoring that AI-powered people analytics remains a deeply polarising category that will hinge on transparency, consent and how outputs are used in performance decisions.