- Slack survey finds AI usage levelling out among workers
- Many workers say they feel embarassed telling their boss they've used AI
- However many companies and bosses want workers to do more AI work
The use and adoption of AI tools in the workplace appears to be plateauing among employees, new research from Slack has claimed.
The latest Workforce Index survey from the online collaboration platform found adoption rates of AI tools have stalled over the last three months, increasing from 32% to just 33%, with slowing engagement from workers in the US seemingly one of the major factors.
This is despite bosses and executives having a strong appetite for adopting AI tools at work as the hype around the technology shows little sign of abating.
AI usage at work
Slack's survey consulted over 17,000 workers across the world, defined as "desk workers" who covered roles from "executive management" down to "skilled office worker", and uncovered a growing sense of uncertainty and discomfort when it comes to using AI at work.
Much of this concern seems to reflect a lack of guidance over the use of AI technology in many offices and workplaces, with workers unsure how much they could start utilizing the assistance.
Admitting they were using AI tools to bosses was apparently a major factor for US workers, almost half (48%) of whom said they were concerned they would be seen as lazy or incompetent for using the technology - or even accused of cheating.
However, workers who said they were comfortable talking about their use of AI with their manager were 67% more likely to have used it for work - and many workers said they were keen to learn more and gain better AI skills, with 76% saying they felt an urgency to become an AI expert.
This rush could partly be because nearly two-thirds (61%) of workers say they have spent less than five hours total learning how to use AI, and 30% say they’ve had no AI training at all.
Going forward, the onus now appears to be on the companies themselves, as having AI adoption stall could be a major issue when it comes to staying competitive.
The survey found that bosses do want their employees to work on AI training, hoping the skills will make them more innovative and allow for more work on existing projects. However Slack notes that making the workplace more open to AI tools, and giving proper guidance, will be what really matters to workers.
“Too much of the burden has been put on workers to figure out how to use AI. To ensure adoption of the technology, it’s important that leaders not only train workers, but encourage employees to talk about it and experiment with AI out in the open,” said Christina Janzer, SVP of Research and Analytics at Slack.
“The arrival of AI agents – with clearly defined roles and guidelines – will also help with adoption, alleviating the ambiguity and anxiety many workers feel around using AI at work.” she continued.
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