AI Adoption in the Workplace: Gallup’s Latest Study

In November 2022, OpenAI launched ChatGPT, ushering a new era almost as big as Taylor Swift. Since then, corporate investment in AI has rivaled Swiftie ticket sales, mostly because they want to get more work done faster. But in Gallup’s latest study, they look at how fast employees are actually hopping on the AI bandwagon. And it’s not the fan crush leaders had crossed their fingers for.

Who, actually, is using AI?

AI is like a lot of things. Looks good on PPT. Hard to execute in real life. Even though executives believe in the tech’s potential to overhaul how they do business, they’re on the struggle bus when it comes to actually integrating these tools in a way so it makes sense for people to actually use them.

Let’s call this the expectation gap; the chasm between vision and execution. Closing this gap across any organization is the bane of any leader’s existence. Let’s look at some of Gallup’s stats –

• 93% of Fortune 500 chief human resource officers (CHROs) say their company has started to use AI tools and tech to make business better.
• But only a third (33%) of all U.S. employees say their management has actually made AI a part of how they do business every day.
• It’s no surprise that the highest awareness is in white-collar industries (44%).

These numbers give color to the expectation gap; change is filtering down from the top, but at a much-slower-than-expected pace.

Employees aren’t hopping on the AI craze

Even though leaders are adopting and using AI tools themselves, the people who report up to them aren’t. This is a huge red flag that shows the way that the tech is introduced and integrated isn’t well thought out.

Gallup asked employees how often they use AI in their role –

• Just shy of 70% say they never use AI
• 10% say they use it at least weekly
• The hiccup here is that these numbers are essentially unchanged from 2023 to 2024.

The lackluster movement is something leaders need to pay attention to. It doesn’t how many billions companies invest in AI, if employees don’t use it, it’s money down the drain.

• 81% of employees in production/frontline industries say they never use AI.
• 54% of white-collar workers say they never use AI, with a mere 15% reporting weekly use.

These industry-specific differences show that it’s not a one-size-fits-all when it comes to adopting AI. The measly amount of usage by frontline workers is a big indicator that, frankly, it’s just not the right tool for their job, or they need more training and resources.

How employees actually do use AI

Understanding how early adopters use AI can shine a light on how to get more people to use it, and where decision makers should invest their budgets. People who use it use it the most to become more productive and make better decisions. Many lean on it to automate tasks and help them come up with ideas. The most common uses are –

1. To generate ideas (41%)
2. To consolidate information or data (39%)
3. To automate basic tasks (39%)

This shows that people primarily use AI to process information that they’ve collected and make sense of the data. But the nice thing is to see that people realize it’s not purely a productivity tool; it can be an amazing creative partner.

Getting the AI job done

For those who have gotten to know our friend AI, it can quickly become a love affair…at least for your to-do pile. Gallup reveals that the positives people see mean AI actually keeping it’s promises –

• Nearly half of employees (45%) say they’re more productive and efficient because of AI.
• The top brass also say they see benefits across the company: 45% of CHROs say how their company does business is more efficient because of AI.

These findings show that when you put AI to use in the right way, it can make both people and the bigger organization perform better. The yin and the yang of this is that we’re already seeing improvement, but with the ultra low adoption rate, we’ve barely scratched the surface.

What stands in the way

Even if people see that good things can come, their AI comfort level is still pretty low. This unease is the ultimate hurdle to getting people everywhere willing to at least play with AI and see what it can do. If people aren’t going to dip their toe in the water, they’ll never jump into the deep end and see what the tech can really do for them.

But the truth is that few employees feel ready to use AI in their roles –

• Only 6% of employees feel very comfortable using AI in their work.
• 16% are very or somewhat comfortable using AI.
• 32% say they are very uncomfortable using it.

Surprisingly, from 2023 to 2024, the number of employees who say they are very prepared to work with AI dropped by 6%! What the heck? This could be because of a couple of things. It could be a “reality check” as people see how incredibly complex AI is to adopt. Or, it could mean that despite all the talk and convincing to use it, people don’t have clear support and don’t feel ready to give it a try. And if you have the choice between doing something wrong and not doing said thing, it’s pretty clear which direction you’ll go.

How to make AI work

Luckily, our friends at Gallup did show us the doom and gloom and leave us hanging. They gave us three important strategies for how you can offer more support within your organization to smooth out the bumps on your AI adoption journey –

1. Clearly communicate your plan for integration

It’s like many change initiatives, the people who want the work done don’t always do a great job at communicating what they want. Sometimes that’s because they’re still a little fuzzy on it themselves. And if you’re not sure yourself, how can you expect others to be clear on it? This means that gap between what leaders want to have happen and what employees are aware of is about the size of the Grand Canyon.

• While 93% of CHROs say they have begun using AI in their companies, only 33% of employees have heard about it.
• Only 15% of employees say their organization has communicated a clear plan or strategy for integrating AI into how they get work done.

However, when employees strongly agree that there’s a clear plan…

• They are 2.9 times as likely to feel very prepared to work with AI.
• They are 4.7 times as likely to feel comfortable using AI in their role.

This is the perfect illustration of why a leader needs to show their organization a clear and shiny North Star. If you point people in the right direction and show them how to navigate, they’re comfortable making decisions that take you in that direction.

Using AI brings a monumental change in how people think about and do their work. Be thoughtful and intentional in how you approach it, invest in a long-term communication plan, and tell the story of progress along the way.

2. Clearly establish guidance for how to use AI

Remember when social media first came out? And every employee freaked out, thinking that if they used it, they’d get fired from their jobs? And then, slowly, they learned what’s OK and what’s not, and they acted like adults. Once people understand what to do, what not to do, when, how and why, they become brilliant decision makers!

But, leaders, we have to help people out because –

• 70% of employees say their company doesn’t have guidance or policies for using AI at work.
• This percentage is lower but still significant in white-collar industries (60%) and among employees who currently use AI at least once a year (47%), but still pretty darn high.

When people don’t know how to use a new technology, like social media or AI, they either don’t use it at all or on the other extreme, become reckless security risks. By creating and communicating clear guidelines, leaders can empower people to competently, confidently and securely use these technologies. This makes room for AI to serve as a tool for igniting innovation and efficiency rather than making it a liability.

3. Align training with what people do

Gallup’s study highlights why formal training builds people’s confidence and competence with AI –

• Almost half of workers who use AI at least once a year say their company has not offered any sort of training on using it at work.
• When employees take the required training, they’re 89% more likely than those who haven’t to say that AI will have an extremely positive impact on their personal productivity and efficiency at work.

While experimenting is part of getting comfortable with AI tools, it’s a balancing act with formal education. Together, they’ll motivate employees to explore AI and use these tools with a growing skill on their own.

Keeping the AI promise

Who knows what will happen next with breakthrough technologies like AI. But one thing is clear: Without effective leadership, AI adoption is going nowhere fast. This means that the billions of dollars being invested in AI workplace transformation may not bring the big payday if organizations don’t manage it well.

Leaders need both a technology and a people strategy to see results. This means you have to have –

1. A clearly communicated plan
2. Established guidelines
3. Formal training

By focusing on these areas, you’ll bridge the expectation gap between AI’s potential and its practical implementation. Once you effectively manage both the technical and human perspectives of adopting AI, you’ll have a front-row seat, ready to reap its benefits, and launch and solidify your competitive edge in the AI-driven future of work.

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