There has been a significant increase in AI adoption and excitement among global desk workers – with daily AI usage higher by an astounding 233% in just six months, according to Salesfoce’s latest Slack Workforce Index.
The survey of 5 000 desk workers around the world also found that AI has emerged as a clear competitive advantage as workers who use AI daily prove to be 64% more productive and 81% more satisfied with their job than colleagues not using AI.
The Index reveals that workers are using AI to level up – going beyond just automating tasks. Ninety six percent of workers have used AI to perform tasks they previously didn’t have the skills to do themselves, and today’s workers are 154% more likely to turn to AI agents to help them perform tasks better and more creatively rather than to just simply automate their work.
“AI adoption is accelerating rapidly and it’s changing the way the world works for the better,” says Peter Doolan, EVP & chief customer officer at Slack, Salesforce. “As more workers embrace AI, businesses are able to unlock greater productivity and value, and help their employees focus on work that drives real impact and growth.”
While workers have been slower to adopt AI than executives, adoption has surged over the past few months, with 60% of desk workers now using AI and 40% using AI agents. And the latest Index shows that trust and confidence in AI grows with use – workers who use AI agents daily are twice as likely to trust them. With workers all-in on AI, businesses can deliver on their AI vision and unlock the full potential of digital labour within their organisations.
“When it comes to workers and AI, the data shows us that seeing is believing,” says Lucas Puente, vice-president of Research. “As workers actually use and experiment with AI agents, their trust and enthusiasm in this technology grows – and we see them leveraging agents to unlock new skills and opportunities in their everyday work.”
Highlights from the latest index include:
AI adoption, trust, and excitement are soaring. Since November 2024:
- AI adoption among workers has risen 50%, with 60% of workers now using AI.
- Daily AI usage among workers is 233% higher.
- 40% of workers have worked with an agent – and 23% have offloaded tasks to agents to complete on their behalf.
- Daily users of AI agents are more than 2x more likely to express high trust in AI across areas like data protection, accuracy, and decision-making.
Millennials are emerging as the surprise AI power user at work.s
- 30% of Millennials say they thoroughly understand AI agents – edging out even Gen Z (22%).
- 68% of Millennials use AI for strategic work like drafting, summarising, and ideating.
- 43% of executives report daily AI use, compared to 35% of senior managers and 23% of middle managers who use AI every day.
AI is making workers more productive and enabling them to grow into more creative, strategic work.
- Compared to non-users, daily AI users are more likely to report “very good”: Productivity (64%); focus (58%); and job satisfaction (81%).
- The top three ways AI / AI agents have increased worker productivity are: Eliminating need for extensive research; assisting with writing/communication; and helping brainstorm to overcome creative blocks.
- 96% of AI users have used AI to perform tasks they didn’t have the skills to do themselves: 72% want AI agents to augment or automate brainstorming; 80% want AI agents to assist with research for deal support; and 82% want AI agents to create presentations.
AI enhances – not replaces – connection among workers.
- Daily AI users are 246% more likely to feel more connected to colleagues and report a 62% higher sense of belonging at work.
- One in three (34%) Gen Z say AI has made them feel more connected at work.
- 50% of Gen Z workers – the digital native generation – say AI hasn’t changed how often they ask questions or collaborate with teammates. In fact, 29% say it’s actually increased their engagement.