Employees want more AI—and leaders are listening
Freshworks global survey shows AI putting a dent in busywork, boosting workers’ sense of purpose
The modern workplace is inefficient. Workers spend three hours a day on frustrating, boring tasks, and in the United States alone, the average time spent on busywork equates to a whopping $2.38 trillion annually in wasted time. Workers are ready for AI to get rid of busywork for good.
That’s according to the results of Freshworks’ Global AI Workplace Report, which surveyed 4,000 knowledge workers across the U.S., U.K., France, Germany, India, Australia, and New Zealand.
The results are eye-opening. Here are some highlights:
AI at Work: Removing frustration, boosting careers
Employees are spending too much time on boring, frustrating tasks—translating to four and a half months of work time per year. But, AI is providing more meaningful relief: It’s saving people significantly more time, yet also restoring purpose and positivity in people’s work.
98% of employees are already getting time back in their work day thanks to AI, and they’re investing in being more productive (71%), coaching other employees (67%), and doing more creative or complex work (66%)
38% of employees said AI helped them get a salary increase or promotion
Therefore, it’s no surprise that employees are getting attached to AI. When asked what they would be willing to sacrifice to maintain access to AI on the job, workers said they would forgo privileges like remote work (37%) or company holiday parties (40%).
31% said they feel their company doesn't care about them if they don’t offer AI tools
38% said they would never be able to keep up with their workload if it wasn’t for AI
46% said they would consider switching jobs for roles that better leverage AI
The workforce wants AI, and leaders are listening
In addition to employee demands for AI tools, leadership teams are the other driving force of AI adoption.
Having already made the initial technology outlays for AI, leaders are now shifting into different kinds of investments—in their current and future employees—to maximize the benefits of AI longer-term. 61% of business leaders say that their organizations have increased AI adoption in 2024.
More than 68% of leaders report that their organization will pay to support employee upskilling for AI
55% of leaders say they are looking for AI skills when considering promotions
45% of senior leadership plan to create and hire AI-specific roles in their organizations
That’s ambitious—but it will require closing some major skills gaps. As the survey notes, nearly all (90%) of employees don’t yet consider themselves experts on AI, and 73% say training and onboarding is necessary to realize its benefits. As a result, 61% of leaders say winning over remaining AI “holdouts” among employees will be a top priority in 2025.
38% of employees said AI helped them get a salary increase or promotion
IT is the enterprise AI champion
As the group responsible for tech deployment in most organizations, IT teams are the driving force of AI adoption. But according to the survey, they aren’t just unloading more tools—they’re ensuring new AI apps and agents perform at a high level for employees: 73% of surveyed employees say they trust their IT team to make sure their AI tools deliver quality results.
30% of employees say that their IT teams are to thank for increased employee trust surrounding AI
54% of IT teams say AI is driving more noticeable value than ever before and 67% say that AI is necessary
85% of IT pros say that AI is making their workday more positive and enjoyable
And IT teams have plans to use AI even more in the future: 96% of IT teams currently are giving or wish to give AI some of their work tasks, namely data analytics (62%), coding (47%), and tech support (47%).
The result? Companies are able to better deploy AI tools, and IT teams are more productive and happy in their roles - win/win.
AI in customer service: progress made, potential awaits
Chatbots have been taking on customer service tasks for years, yet customer service (CS) agents have the lowest levels of trust and usage in AI across organizations– according to the survey, 63% report knowing little or nothing about AI.
While that disconnect has profound implications on customer experience, there are some CS teams who are starting to see the benefits of AI..
40% of CS agents say that AI bots and agents are invaluable to their workload
74% say their opinion of AI has changed for the better due to its increased capabilities and performance
CS agents specifically note that AI is helping de-escalate tense situations (25%) and turn a poor customer experience into a good one (35%)
51% also say that AI allows them to learn new skills via saved time
36% of CS agents say AI is driving more noticeable value than ever before
Unfortunately, not all customer support teams are reaping those benefits. There’s a lack of clear direction–with 40% of support teams using AI without an official policy– and only 53% feeling comfortable using it.
Nonetheless, AI has proven essential, and with increased focus from the top, along with budgets, policies, and plans to upskill workers, those gaps can close quickly.
You can read the full Freshworks’ AI Workplace Report here.
