Seven in 10 workers in Ireland report using AI in the workplace at least once a month, the highest rate of the eight countries surveyed. This compares to 43% in the US, 41% in the UK and just 18% in Japan.
The findings, based on a survey of 80,000 workers around the world, show a growing gap between employees who are using AI and those who have not yet adopted new technology.
Indeed states that employer encouragement is a key factor in increasing hiring. In Ireland, 37% of workers report a high level of encouragement to use AI by their employer. This is a big difference from Japan, which is only 12%.
The report highlights that across all eight countries, workers whose employers actively encourage the use of AI are significantly more likely to actually use it in the workplace, ranging from 28 percentage points in Ireland to 54 percentage points in Japan.
There appears to be significant time savings for those using this technology. More than half of AI users in Ireland say they save 1-2 hours per day, and a further 44% say they save 3-5 hours every day, the highest percentage in this category across the countries surveyed.
According to Indeed, only a minority say they see no time savings.
Globally, more than 80% of AI users say they save at least an hour a day. In Ireland, the study says workers are most likely to spend their time improving their work-life balance (34%), learning new skills (26%) or focusing on creative work (25%).
However, a gap is emerging, with nearly six in 10 AI users in Ireland saying they have not received sufficient training, compared to 49% of non-users.
The numbers show that employees who actively use AI are more likely to identify skill gaps and unmet training needs.
Approximately 16% of Irish workers are thought to be uninvolved with AI, rarely using it and seeing no need for training. This was the lowest level among the eight countries surveyed.
Indeed says people become less motivated to work as they get older, and are most common in manual labor and caregiving roles.
Jack Kennedy, Senior Economist at Indeed, said: “Ireland’s high rate of AI adoption means the country is well placed to benefit from technology, but our findings show that adoption alone is not enough. Waiting for workers to adapt themselves risks leaving some behind.”
