We conducted a survey (using Arro 🎯) on 100 product professionals to learn about the "🤖 State of AI Adoption at Work". The results really surprised us.
It seems like we're still very much in the first innings. Although it might feel like AI is everywhere, this hasn't yet translated into actual usage in the workplace.
This means we're a long way from crossing the chasm (eg transitioning from early adopters to a mainstream market). We see this as a double-edged sword.
On the one hand, we can expect AI usage to accelerate in the near future as it becomes more pervasive at work.
On the other hand, there are a number of existing blockers which could be hindering progress, costing companies $$$ in lost productivity.
Here are the main takeaways from the study:
1️⃣ Over half of the respondents (56%) never or infrequently use AI at work. Just 1 in 5 (19%) of respondents claimed to use AI every day at work.
2️⃣ The most common applications of AI at work for product teams included coding assistance, content generation, data processing, and problem-solving.
3️⃣ The average satisfaction rating with existing AI tools was just 3.4/5. The most common reasons for lower ratings include the need for more accuracy, speed, and reliability in the AI tools.
4️⃣ The majority of respondents expected to use AI more frequently this time next year (58%). Only a small minority expected to use it less frequently (2%).
5️⃣ The reasons for not adopting AI in the workplace varied:
- Cost (15%)
- Security concerns (16%)
- Unproven technology (17%)
- No fitting use cases (17%)
- Steep learning curve (12%)
- Other (8%)
*None of the above (15%)
It's clear that there are a number of hurdles stopping teams from getting the most from AI. It's not just one issue but a combination of inertial forces that are slowing down adoption.
6️⃣ The majority of respondents did not feel that their job was threatened by AI (57%). 1 in 6 did feel threatened (16%) with just over 1 in 4 unsure (27%). This highlights that the threat of AI 'taking over' certain jobs in technology is likely overblown. AI is seen as augmentative, not substitutive.
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For the methodology of this study, we recruited 107 professionals who were currently working full-time in product organisations. We had a completion rate of 84% (90 submissions). The respondents conducted an AI-led survey which mixed open and closed question formats to learn more about their adoption of AI in the workplace.
The majority of participants (78%) worked in Product Management, Design, Engineering or User Research roles. Most of these were at the IC (33%) or Manager level (30%) with the rest in more senior positions.
Thanks to everyone who participated. We plan on running more in-depth studies in the near future.
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