AI at Work Is Here. Now Comes the Hard Part

• Already, AI is being woven into the workplace at an unexpected scale. 75% of knowledge workers use AI at work today, and 46% of users started using it less than six months ago. It’s paying off: 

  • Users say AI helps them save time (90%), focus on their most important work (85%), be more creative (84%), and enjoy their work more (83%). 

  • The heaviest Teams users (the top 5%) summarised 8 hours of meetings using Copilot in the month of March, the equivalent of an entire workday.

• Turning visitors into leads.

Without guidance or clearance from the top, employees are taking things into their own hands and keeping AI use under wraps: 

• 78% of AI users are bringing their own AI tools to work (BYOAI)—it’s even more common at small and medium-sized companies (80%). 

• And it’s not just Gen Z—BYOAI cuts across all generations. 

• 52% of people who use AI at work are reluctant to admit to using it for their most important tasks.

• 53% of people who use AI at work worry that using it on important work tasks makes them look replaceable.

This approach means missing out on the benefits that come from strategic AI use at scale. It also puts company data at risk in an environment where leaders’ #1 concern for the year ahead is cybersecurity and data privacy.

Another driver of BYOAI: work has accelerated faster than employees’ ability to keep up. 

• 68% of people say they struggle with the pace and volume of work, and 46% feel burned out.

• Email overload persists—85% of emails are read in under 15 seconds, and the typical person has to read about 4 emails for every 1 they send.

• Meetings and after-hours work are holding steady at their post-pandemic highs, and the workday still skews toward communication: in the Microsoft 365 apps, users spend 60% of their time on emails, chats, and meetings, and only 40% in creation apps like Word and PowerPoint.

“These findings align perfectly with how our brains manage the trade-offs between routine task execution and innovation—different kinds of thinking supported by two distinct but interacting neural networks in the brain. When we’re constantly switching, we don’t work as well. AI can help liberate workers from menial work and enable innovation and creativity to flourish.”

—Michael Platt, neuroscientist and professor at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania

As AI use continues to advance rapidly, leaders who are “extremely familiar” with the technology view its potential as transformative as the transition from typewriters to computers. Over the next five years, 41% of these leaders anticipate a complete redesign of business processes using AI. During this period, they also expect to focus on orchestrating AI systems (38%), training AI bots (42%), and ensuring ethical AI use (47%) as central aspects of their roles.

The data underscores a clear reality: individuals are burdened by digital debt and pressure at work, increasingly turning to AI for relief. For leaders, the key opportunity lies in harnessing this momentum to drive enterprise employee productivity gains and deliver measurable ROI. This includes integrating AI in the workplace through innovative solutions such as the Microsoft HoloLens CoPilot, Microsoft Mesh immersive meetings, and collaborative efforts between Microsoft and Meta. By leveraging these tools, organisations can enhance productivity, streamline operations, and set new standards for AI at work.

We also see AI beginning to impact the job market. While AI and job loss are top of mind for many, the data offers a more nuanced view—one with a hidden talent shortage, employees itching for a career change, and massive opportunity for those willing to skill up on AI. 

• Leaders are hiring: The majority (55%) of leaders say they’re concerned about having enough talent to fill roles in the year ahead. These leaders sit across functions, but the number jumps to 60% or higher for those in cybersecurity, engineering, and creative design. 

• Professionals are looking: While some professionals worry AI will replace their job (45%), about the same share (46%) say they’re considering quitting in the year ahead—higher than the 40% who said the same ahead of 2021’s Great Reshuffle. And in the US, LinkedIn studies show a 14% increase in job applications per role since last fall, with 85% of professionals considering a new job this year.

Leaders have already made their landgrab for technical AI talent, with hiring up 323% in the past eight years. Now they’re turning their sights to non-technical talent with AI aptitude—the skills to use generative AI tools like ChatGPT and Copilot:

• 66% of leaders say they wouldn’t hire someone without AI skills.

• 71% say they’d rather hire a less experienced candidate with AI skills than a more experienced candidate without them.

• And junior candidates may have a new edge: 77% of leaders say, with AI, early-in-career talent will be given greater responsibilities. 

“Over the past few decades, companies have been renegotiating the psychological contract—the why of work—with their employees, influenced by new generations, labor trends, and the pandemic. Now companies must renegotiate the ‘operational contract’—the how of work—with their employees as AI puts more power into the hands of workers in terms of the way the job gets done.”

—Constance Noonan Hadley, Organizational Psychologist, Institute for Life at Work and Boston University Questrom School of Business

While leaders recognise the value of bringing on new employees with AI aptitude, they’re missing the value of developing their own people:

• 45% of US executives are not currently investing in AI tools or products for employees.⁶

• Only 39% of people globally who use AI at work have gotten AI training from their company.

• Only 25% of companies are planning to offer training on generative AI this year, further cementing this training deficit.⁷

Professionals aren’t waiting for official guidance or training—they’re skilling up.

• 76% say they need AI skills to remain competitive in the job market.   

69% of people say AI can help get them promoted faster, and even more (79%) say AI skills will broaden their job opportunities.

In the past six months, the use of LinkedIn Learning courses designed to build AI aptitude has spiked 160% among non-technical professionals, with roles like project managers, architects, and administrative assistants looking to skill up most.

Microsoft has observed a remarkable 142x increase in LinkedIn members globally adding AI skills such as ChatGPT and Copilot to their profiles, with writers, designers, and marketers leading the charge. Marketers, in particular, have compelling reasons for this shift. According to B2B marketers, two of the top ways they plan to leverage generative AI this year are to enhance efficiency and focus on higher-value tasks (55%) and to create optimised, engaging content that effectively resonates with target audiences (51%).

The adoption of AI is not limited to tech-based industries. Administrative and support services, real estate, and retail sectors are at the forefront of AI integration, surpassing even the tech industry itself. This trend highlights how AI is reshaping enterprise employee productivity gains across a diverse range of fields, underscoring the impact of AI in the workplace.

For the vast majority of people, AI isn’t replacing their job but transforming it, and their next job might be a role that doesn’t exist yet:

• Globally, skills are projected to change by 50% by 2030 (from 2016)—and generative AI is expected to accelerate this change to 68%. 

• More than two-thirds (68%) of this year’s LinkedIn’s Jobs on the Rise (fastest-growing roles in the US) didn’t exist 20 years ago. 

• 12% of recruiters say they are already creating new roles tied specifically to the use of generative AI.

• Head of AI is emerging as a new must-have leadership role—a job that tripled over the past five years and grew by more than 28% in 2023.

The headline and sub-header tells us what you're offering, and the form header closes the deal. Over here you can explain why your offer is so great it's worth filling out a form for.

AI Aptitude Heats Up Across Roles and Industries

In our research, four types of AI users emerged on a spectrum—from skeptics who rarely use AI to power users who use it extensively, with novices and explorers in between. When we studied the difference between skeptics and power users we saw notable gaps, not only between how they work but how they feel about work.

Skeptics are at least familiar with AI, but they only use it a few times a month (if ever). They say AI saves them 10 minutes or less per day. 

Novices are only somewhat familiar with AI (if at all) and use it only a few times a month (if ever). They say AI saves them 30 minutes or less per day. 

Explorers are only somewhat familiar with AI (if at all) and use it a few times a month or once a week. They say AI saves them between 5 and 30 minutes per day. 

Power Users are at least familiar with AI and use it at least several times per week. They say it saves them more than 30 minutes per day.

_________________

Survey Questions: 
When using artificial intelligence (AI) at work, how frequently do you do each of the following? 
We’d now like you to reflect on how you feel about using artificial intelligence (AI) in your work. To what extent do you agree or disagree with the following statements? 

Power users of AI are highly familiar with the technology, integrating it into their work routines several times a week and saving over 30 minutes each a day. The benefits are substantial: these users report that AI helps them manage their overwhelming workloads (92%), enhances their creativity (92%), and enables them to focus on their most important tasks (93%). Additionally, AI boosts their motivation (91%) and makes work more enjoyable (91%).

Becoming a power user involves adopting new habits. Power users are 68% more likely to experiment frequently with various AI applications, which is the top predictor of their status as power users. Compared to other respondents, they are also 49% more likely to pause before starting a task to consider AI’s potential, 30% more inclined to persist with AI until they get a satisfactory response, and 56% more likely to research and test new prompts. They bookend their day with AI, using it to start their workday (85%) and prepare for the next (85%).

Moreover, power users have fundamentally adjusted their work patterns. They are 56% more likely to use AI to catch up on missed meetings, 51% more for analysing information, 49% more for designing visual content, interacting with customers, and brainstorming or problem-solving. They are also 66% more likely to use AI to redesign their business processes and workflows. These insights reflect the profound impact of AI on enterprise employee productivity gains and highlight the importance of AI in the workplace.

The research also shows that power users are empowered by a different kind of organisation. At their companies:

• Senior leaders lean in: AI power users are 61% more likely to hear from their CEO about the importance of using generative AI at work, 40% more likely to hear from the leader of their department, and 42% more likely to hear from their manager’s manager. 

• Company culture is change-ready: AI power users are 53% more likely to receive encouragement from leadership to consider how AI can transform their function and 18% more likely to say their company encourages innovation.

• They get tailored training: AI power users are 37% more likely to say their company has a virtual learning program. They’re also more likely to have received training on prompt writing (+37%), how to use AI for their role or function (+35%), or specific use cases such as writing or analysing data (+32%).

“To stay ahead of the curve, we’ve made AI training a priority to ensure everyone can leverage the power of Copilot for Microsoft 365 and other AI solutions. We also launched the GenAI Academy, supporting employee growth and development with the aim of increasing ambassadors and GenAI power users across the globe. We are already seeing benefits that are transforming the way we work and innovate.”

—Sheila Jordan, SVP, Chief Digital Technology Officer, Honeywell

AI power users provide a window into the future—revealing what’s possible when employees embrace new ways of working and leaders lean in.