A whopping 78 per cent of employees are using artificial intelligence (AI) technologies in the form of free solutions as well as specialised tools being employed within their organisations. Yet, many feel these tools aren’t living up to their promises.
According to the ‘Pulse of Work in 2025: Trends, Truths and the Practicality of AI’ report, while employees and IT leaders agree that AI tools are highly promising, their benefits do not live up to the hype surrounding them.
In fact, 62 per cent of employees say AI has been significantly overhyped. That isn’t all; a good 57 per cent of employees believe AI’s value and ROI are overstated. A significant 59 per cent do not believe that jobs will be taken over by AI.
But then this is not because the tools are flawed or weak, but because employees are not using them to their full potential. A whopping 86 per cent of the employees surveyed admit they aren’t using the full potential of AI, irrespective of the generation they belong to. Maximum Baby Boomers (91 per cent) feel they aren’t leveraging the full potential of AI, followed by Gen X (88 per cent), Millennials (86 per cent) and GenZ (78 per cent).
Employees have admitted that they are unable to access valuable tools. In all likelihood AI is not being leveraged fully because of a lack of training, trust and policy.
The global survey conducted by GoTo and Workplace Intelligence between February and April 2025, interviewed 2,500 respondents, comprising full-time knowledge workers and IT decision-makers. The participants were spread across the US, Canada, the UK, Ireland, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, India, Mexico and Brazil.
The study revealed that free tools such as ChatGPT are being used by 53 per cent of the employees surveyed, while 23 per cent are using company-purchased tools from external providers. About 19 per cent are using tools developed by their company internally, while 12 per cent employees use tools purchased by they themselves for their personal use.
Clearly, AI has been embraced widely but a good 64 per cent warn against considering AI as a cure or solution for every business problem. About 68 per cent feel that the accuracy and precision attributed to AI is often misrepresented; that AI cannot be better than humans or even totally free of errors.
Information technology leaders are more optimistic when it comes to AI usage. Less than 50per cent believe AI is overhyped.
However, they have their own worries when it comes to embracing AI. About 35 per cent are worried about security, while 21 per cent are wary of the challenges that will emerge in integration. Twenty-two per cent feel the AI tools are not industry-specific, and therefore, adoption will be difficult. About 20 per cent are worried about the high cost of these AI tools, while an equal number believe that vendors do not support them or provide training adequately. A small percentage (26 per cent) IT leaders are also concerned about the lack of employee trust in these tools.
What is most concerning is that employees are spending about 2.6 hours per day, or 13 hours a week performing tasks that can be easily and more quickly be handled by AI. That means precious time is being lost; time that can be channelled elsewhere or put to other/better use to increase the overall productivity. Business must realize how much money they are losing annually by not embracing AI.
Interestingly, even Baby Boomers—who are labelled as unsavvy when it comes to mastering technology—feel that they would be better off with AI taking care of at least two hours of work daily.
Perhaps the priority should be to address the disconnect between employees and IT leaders. Alarmingly, 35 per cent do not know what tasks can be taken over by AI. An equal number are unaware of how AI can save time or improve their work. About 33 per cent say AI tools aren’t tailored to their industry or organization, while 28 per cent are using AI aimlessly instead of solving real business problems.
With 82 per cent of employees admitting to being unfamiliar with the practical applications of AI, and only 49 per cent of IT leaders believing their employees are struggling to this degree, there is an urgent need to bridge the employer-employee gap.
Then there is the issue of trust. A good 86 per cent of employees do not trust AI’s accuracy. About 53 per cent of leaders do not either. The full potential of AI can be tapped only if these gaps in knowledge, trust, and awareness are filled.
