(TNND) — According to a recent report from Gallup, approximately 4 in 10 employees say they use artificial intelligence in their work, and even smaller companies report using it frequently.
While the use of AI has steadily increased in recent years, the pace of its adoption in the workplace may be seen as a disappointment given the “narrative environment saturated with big claims,” said Mark Muro, a senior fellow at Brookings Metro.
But Muro, who studies the digital economy, said the adoption of AI in the workplace is progressing rapidly by historical standards.
“I think there’s a speed limit to adoption,” Muro said. “Deploying AI is not just about installing a new app on your phone. It’s about leveraging AI to achieve pick-and-shovel-like benefits from process changes within your organization. And that’s where I think we need to address some of the big demands that are slightly above the speed limit of technology adoption.”
According to a Gallup report released Wednesday, 41% of private sector employees use AI at least sometimes, and 25% of them say they use it frequently.
Gallup reports similar numbers among public sector employees, with 43% of the total including 21% of regular users.
The use of AI in work is steadily increasing for both private and public sector employees. For example, private sector employee utilization is up from 26% in early 2024 and 37% in early 2025.
Anton D’Arbla, an AI expert and co-director of the Johns Hopkins Institute for Autonomous Assurance, said the pace of AI adoption is in line with his expectations.
He also said the Gallup survey data may be underreporting the extent of AI use in the workplace.
“AI is rapidly being incorporated into business applications,” says Dahbura. “So, first of all, people may not be aware that they are using AI, and employees may not be aware either.”
AI is not just ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini, Dahbura said.
And the next evolution of workplace AI will see tools increasingly integrated into an organization’s workflows and interfaces, he said.
“Basically, it’s new software. It’s new software,” Derbra said. “We’re doing things with software that we couldn’t do before, so it’s no surprise that we’re starting to do it everywhere software is available.”
Muro said private sector adoption of AI is needed to realize the technology’s promise of productivity and economic benefits.
But he said bringing in the public sector could improve the process and support the economic interests of the private sector.
Both the Mura and Gallup reports state that organizational and managerial support is key to successful AI implementation in the workplace.
“Individual productivity is one thing,” Muro said. “What really matters is the productivity of the organization. … That’s where productivity increases tremendously.”
And that requires training, supervision, and organizational strategy.
This is also why Mr. Muro said he remains somewhat skeptical about the adoption of ultra-fast AI.
Dabura said security and privacy concerns and the tendency of AI models to hallucinate information could also slow adoption.
“It’s a message for buyers to be careful,” Dabura said. “And while it can be a great tool, it has risks and limitations.”
Gallup said its findings show that executive support is strongly related to whether the use of AI becomes routine rather than occasional.
Private sector employees who said their supervisors actively supported their teams’ use of AI reported using it more frequently by a 36 point higher margin.
Gallup said company leaders need to include a clear AI strategy that explains why AI is helpful, how it fits into daily work, and how employees should use AI responsibly.
Christos Makridis, a Gallup senior researcher who authored the new report, said managers are “the critical link between strategy and action” when it comes to using AI.
