How should a manager assess work when a task takes less time?
When AI shortens a task, a team that still rewards looking busy has no reason to do anything with the time. Describe what a good finished result looks like for a recurring task, and decide together what people do when it takes less time.
The culture discussion set busyness against value, and a team can't make that shift while its expectations still reward constant activity.
The standard comes before the speed comparison
Pick a recurring task and describe a useful finished result. Include quality and timeliness, plus what the recipient has to do next. Show that standard to the team before anyone compares how fast it gets produced. Then talk about what people should do with the time when a task gets shorter. They may need room to improve the result or learn a skill, or a different responsibility may fit better. Volume shouldn't creep up while priorities stay put.
Look at what your updates ask for, too. If every status check asks how many items got produced, people will reasonably decide quantity is still the measure. Give a prevented mistake or a clarified decision the same recognition as a finished deliverable. Activity still matters. The point is to tell necessary work from the show of being busy, and to say the new expectation out loud.
What to try this week
At your next team update, ask what the recipient got out of a task and leave out how many items were done. Notice how the answers change.