From the fax machine to the internet, technology has always changed and improved how we work. Now, AI tools can streamline or even take over many day-to-day tasks in the workplace, from analyzing data to content creation.

To explore how AI is impacting the way we work, we surveyed a panel of the working population within the United States asking three questions:

1. Are you interested in using AI in your job?

2. How often do you actually use AI in your job to perform tasks faster, make tasks easier, get better results, or in other productive ways?

3. How are you using AI?

Our key takeaway is that while 76% of people are interested in using AI in their jobs, only 25% say that AI tools frequently improve their productivity.

Overall Results

A significant majority of people want to use AI tools at work, but only a minority say they are using AI productively.

• 76% of people are interested in using AI at work.
• 49% of people use AI in productive ways either ‘rarely’ or ‘never’.
• Administrative tasks and data analytics are the most common uses of AI.

Are you interested in using AI in your job?

How often do you actually use AI in your job to perform tasks faster, make tasks easier, get better results, or in other productive ways?

How are you using AI?

Gender Breakdown:

Men are significantly more interested in using AI, and are more likely to consider it productive.

• 87% of men are interested in using AI in the workplace.
• 63% of women are interested in using AI in the workplace.
• Women are twice as likely as men to consider AI tools ‘never’ productive(32.6% vs 16.7%).

Are you interested in using AI in your job?

Men:

Women:

How often do you actually use AI in your job to perform tasks faster, make tasks easier, get better results, or in other productive ways?

Men:

Women:

How are you using AI?

Men:

Women:

Seniority Breakdown

Senior figures, from the C-suit to Directors, were significantly more likely to be interested in AI, and twice as likely to say they use it ‘frequently’ in productive ways.

Are you interested in using AI in your job?

Senior Position (C-suite, VP, Director)

Less Senior (Assistant, Analyst, Manager)

How often do you actually use AI in your job to perform tasks faster, make tasks easier, get better results, or in other productive ways?

Senior Position (C-suite, VP, Director)

Less Senior (Assistant, Analyst, Manager)

How are you using AI?

Senior Position (C-suite, VP, Director)

Less Senior (Assistant, Analyst, Manager)

Age Breakdown:

Younger workers are significantly more interested in using AI, and are more likely to use it in the workplace. Here, we compare attitudes of those aged 25 to 34 with those aged 55 to 64.

Are you interested in using AI in your job?

25 – 34

55 – 64

How often do you actually use AI in your job to perform tasks faster, make tasks easier, get better results, or in other productive ways?

25 – 34

55 – 64

Conclusion

As the conversation around AI and its application grows, workers are increasingly interested in implementing AI tools into their jobs. Yet there are challenges: companies need to understand the needs of a diverse workforce when introducing new tools, implement the use of tools thoughtfully, and train employees of all ages in the use of AI to ensure a level playing field. Finally, while AI is being readily used for administrative tasks, its use in marketing and HR is lagging behind, with potential applications in other fields and tasks less normalized.

If you’re interested in using this data for your own story or digging deeper into our findings on AI adoption in the workplace, reach out to Lotte Reford to learn more.