The use of artificial intelligence tools is spreading through organizations, with 58% of employees reporting that they intentionally use them at work regularly. But while a lot of workers are using AI, most of them are not using it a lot.
KPMG surveyed 48,340 people across 47 countries and jurisdictions to examine the public’s attitudes toward and usage of AI. Those who were employed were also asked about their use of AI in the workplace.
Only 17% of the employees said they use intentionally AI tools daily. Almost a third (30%) said they do so only a few times a year or every few months, while 26% use the tools weekly or monthly.
In fact, a plurality of employees (27%) said they never intentionally use AI at work. (The research specifically was aimed at determining intentional use of AI technologies, as opposed to passive use, where AI operates behind the scenes in tools such as email filters and search engines.)
Among the employees who don’t use AI, 58% said the tools are not helpful or required, while 19% specifically said they prefer not to work with AI tools, and 14% said they don’t understand how to use the tools.
In its survey report, Deloitte advised employers to prioritize efforts to educate workers about AI. The survey findings reinforce “the importance of supporting AI literacy among employees, providing access to AI tools, and facilitating understanding of how AI can be used for a range of work applications to create value,” the professional services firm wrote.
Even those who enthusiastically employ AI technologies might benefit from some education, research results suggested. Despite the 58% usage rate, only 47% of the surveyed employees reported any form of training or education in AI or related fields, and just 46% rated their level of AI knowledge as at least moderate.
However, the AI tools most commonly used at work generally don’t require AI training or education. These most prominently include free, publicly available generative AI tools, followed by voice-based AI assistants. Such tools are also broadly accessible, can be used through natural language interfaces, and offer a wide utility across a range of work tasks and functions.
Less than half (42%) of employees said they use AI tools provided by their employer, while 18% use publicly available AI tools that they pay to access.
Despite the extensive and growing use of GenAI tools in the workplace, only 40% of employees said their organization has a policy or provides guidance on the appropriate usage of such tools. Almost one in five employees (19%) didn’t even know whether there were any such policies in place.
