Almost half of the respondents report using GenAI less than monthly due to issues and concerns 

• 46% of users engage with AI tools less than monthly, primarily due to a lack of understanding (24%) and dissatisfaction with answer quality (18%).​
• Concerns include poor integration into existing processes, data privacy, and copyright issues, with privacy being a concern for 17% of users.
• Providing comprehensive training, feedback-driven integrations, addressing privacy, and intuitive interfaces can promote more frequent and confident use of AI tools.

There is a high level of interest and initial experimentation. People are curious and want to try it, but sustained engagement is limited. We might even say there’s a lot of “hype” around it that dies off over time.

Of those that use GenAI infrequently, we’re seeing it be due to a lack of understanding of how to effectively use the tools (24%), dissatisfaction with the quality of the generated answers (18%), and others simply forget to use these tools in their regular workflows (18%).​

GenAI tools are most popular among younger age groups

• Awareness is highest among younger individuals (85% of ages 18-24), with usage dropping significantly in older age groups; only 20% engagement in ages 65-75, highlighting the need for inclusive strategies.

• Gender disparities exist, with 80% of men versus 64% of women aware of GenAI, but actual usage rates are similar (64% male, 67% female); women may require more support and training due to higher exposure to AI automation in certain job sectors.

• Most use it for personal reasons (69%), with professional (36%) and educational (38%) uses also significant, suggesting the need for tailored approaches to boost engagement and close gender and age gaps.

As we’d expect with most advanced technology, awareness and usage is highest among younger individuals (18-24) – they’re the early adopters. When we look at the working cohorts (25-64), there’s a steady decline in awareness and usage. This highlights how important it is to consider GenAI when looking at your talent strategy. Your earlier in career talent is already using this technology, and to some extent expects organisations to provide opportunities to use it as well. 

Gender differences also play a role when it comes to awareness (80% of men versus 64% of women), but the actual usage rates are similar between genders (64% male, 67% female). Despite this, women may need more transitional support and training as Generative AI sweeps through organisations as they are in occupations that are highly exposed to GenAI (8/10 women vs 6/10 men). ^{[Generative AI and the future of work. Deloitte AI Institute]}

Employers should consider tailored approaches for GenAI in the workplace. They can enhance workplace AI tools to boost professional usage to address gender and age disparities by ensuring that resources and training are accessible to all and build a comprehensive change management strategy to increase adoption and impact.

Low frequency of GenAI users due to concerns about ease of use, data privacy, and copyright infringement

Concerns about perceived ease of use and outcome satisfaction suggest that users might feel the tools do not integrate seamlessly into their existing processes or fail to provide consistent value. Moreover, worries about data privacy and potential copyright infringement also contribute to hesitancy, with around 17% of respondents expressing these concerns.​

To combat these challenges, organisations should focus on providing more comprehensive training and support. Encouraging feedback-driven integrations will help ensure that AI outputs meet user needs. This can help transition hesitant users into more frequent, confident users. Additionally, addressing privacy issues openly and integrating AI tools into more intuitive interfaces may further enhance regular usage, as it might reduce the fear around not understanding how to use it ethically.

Irish employees are ahead of employers ​

• 67% of GenAI users report being more productive at work however only a quarter of employees currently feel that GenAI use is actively encouraged. 

• In the workplace, GenAI is mainly used for writing, editing, information retrieval, and generating ideas, with 44% of users employing it for email-related tasks.

• Creative and analytical applications include text creation (38%) and summarization (35%), with AI usage in data analysis and image generation also on the rise.

• Only 24% of users report active promotion of AI technologies by their organisation, highlighting a need to develop comprehensive AI strategies and supportive environments.

There is major need for employers to further invest and drive adoption to realise further benefits. There is a risk for organisations not reacting to the uptake in usage as those that use GenAI feel (wrongly) that the outputs are accurate (34%) and unbiased (28%).

Irish employees are ahead of employers and ready to take advantage of GenAI. Employers need to back this up with initiatives and investment for organisational changes to take place. Hackathons, AI fluency training, supportive policies and Openness and transparency on successful use cases are all key to encouraging and enabling employees to leverage these new tools for improved performance.

A big lack of trust

Consumers report being less likely to trust and engage with AI driven customer service agents.

• This rollout will have implications on consumer trust and engagement. Two thirds of Irish respondents would be less likely to use GenAI powered customer services. To counter this, there needs to be a focus on improved customer experience rather than just internal efficiency gains. 
• Coupling robust governance structures with ethical, transparent and trustworthy AI along with ensuring a human remains in the loop will help to mitigate for the limitations of GenAI and improve customer experience.
• Customers will overcome this hesitancy once they directly benefit from these new technologies and build trust in the information provided from AI driven assistants.