It’s not tool what you use, it’s how you use it
Tens of millions of UK workers now use GenAI tools, but many struggle to get meaningful results.
With insights from 25,000 UK workers, our GenAI Workforce Survey gives us a unique perspective on how GenAI is reshaping the workplace. Here, we take a deep dive into the different tools people use, what they use them for, and whether they’re helping them be more productive.
Key takeaways
- Half of people using GenAI report time savings, but the other half are not yet saving any time at all
- When time is saved, employers usually benefit, but 27% of time-savers spend at least some of that gain on personal tasks
- GenAI is most often used for search and writing emails, with 43% of users doing both, suggesting many people are using it for the same tasks they’ve done for years, not transformational work
- GenAI is still in the early days of adoption, with 52% of users saying that removing the tool would not impact their ability to do their job, and only 8% saying their job would be much harder without it
What is GenAI being used for?
Which, if any, of the following tasks have you used any GenAI tools for?
GenAI is most commonly used for familiar workplace tasks, like search and writing emails, each cited by 43% of users. These tasks are important, but don’t always translate directly into tangible productivity improvements. And more emails might just mean more content for recipients to read. Interestingly, intensive GenAI users have the same usage pattern as the average UK worker, but with a higher frequency.
GenAI saves time - but how much, really?
On average, how much time per week do you save at work by using GenAI?
The productivity story is nuanced. Half of employees who use GenAI say it saves them no time at all. But the other half report meaningful time savings. About one in eight (12%) claim to save more than 3 hours per week using GenAI.
When scaled across the workforce, these claimed gains equate to one million full-time employees. That’s a remarkable impact. But it’s important to note that most workers can’t recall time savings precisely. In industries where GenAI is being used the most, such as Information and Communication, as many as two-thirds of users report time savings.
Who benefits more: employers or employees?
Time saved by GenAI is used for...
When GenAI does save time, the benefit doesn’t always flow neatly back to employers. Around half of employees saving time use it to do more of the same work. But 27% of time-savers spend at least some of that gain on personal tasks. And for many, the benefit is spread across several shorter periods, rather than a single block of time, making it hard to use the savings for one important task.
Chief HR Officers may welcome the breathing space GenAI provides for their people, as it frees up time to put the kettle on or have a chat, which can improve employee satisfaction or reduce attrition. But CIOs might see a different problem: genuine productivity gains that are difficult to capture, measure or direct.
Is GenAI indispensable?
"Without access to GenAI tools at work, my job would be..."
As it stands, GenAI is indispensable only for 8% of UK workers. For 52% of users, losing access to the tools wouldn’t make work any harder, while for 11% it might even make work easier. Almost half (45%) say their job would become harder without GenAI, which paints the picture of a workforce still getting to grips with the technology.
The idea that GenAI removes repetitive or monotonous tasks to free people up for higher-value work may only be true for a minority. But as the technology improves, this proportion should steadily grow, and productivity gains will be much more tangible.
