More employees use AI, yet companies still find it challenging to make it beneficial

AI use in workplaces has nearly doubled to 40%, but useful implementation remains a challenge.

: AI adoption in the workplace has surged, with 40% of US employees now using it, a significant increase over the past two years, according to Gallup data. White-collar professionals, especially in technology, professional services, and finance sectors, show the highest frequency of AI use. Despite this, only 22% of employees have received a clear AI strategy, and just 16% find the tools effectively helpful, highlighting a lack of guidance. Salesforce research shows AI agents struggle with complex tasks and confidentiality, with success rates dropping from 58% in single-turn tasks to 35% in multi-turn tasks, emphasizing the gap between AI's potential and practical business needs.

The integration of artificial intelligence (AI) in workplaces across the United States has significantly increased, as highlighted in recent reports from Gallup and Salesforce. Gallup's findings reveal that the number of US employees using AI in their roles has nearly doubled from 21% in 2023 to 40% in 2025. This growth is particularly pronounced among white-collar professionals, where frequent AI usage has climbed from 11% to 19%. Technology, finance, and professional services sectors are leading this adoption, while frontline workers have seen minimal change, decreasing slightly from 11% to 9%. Despite the rise in AI usage, many employees express that their organizations lack clear AI strategies or guidelines, with only 22% of employees receiving explicit implementation plans.

The adoption of AI is more common in management roles compared to individual contributors, with one-third of managers using AI frequently, as opposed to 16% of lower-tier employees. This disparity in AI usage is accompanied by a general feeling of security among employees, as only 15% believe AI might replace their jobs within five years. Nonetheless, there is a heightened awareness and concern in industries like technology, retail, and finance. Gallup's data suggest that leadership plays a pivotal role in staff comfort with AI tools, with those led by communicative leaders reporting higher levels of preparation and comfort.

  • AI Usage Growth Chart

On the technology front, Salesforce's report unveils the current limits of AI capabilities. Even the best large language models (LLMs) achieve only 58% success in simple single-turn business tasks. For complex, multi-turn interactions, the success rate falls further to 35%. Workflow tasks that follow clear rules show better performance, achieving over 83% success, but significant weaknesses remain in tasks involving policy compliance, textual reasoning, and database queries. Furthermore, AI agents show insufficient sensitivity towards handling confidential information unless explicitly instructed, which poses confidentiality and security risks.

The technology's maturity is questioned as the Salesforce study points out the balance that AI systems must achieve between reasoning prowess and operational cost-effectiveness. Models like Gemini-2.5-pro and Gemini-2.5-flash demonstrate a promising performance-to-cost balance but the broader capability gap remains evident. Enhancements in reasoning abilities can improve task success rates, yet challenges persist in real-world applications.

  • AI Task Performance

Both reports signify that while AI is permeating the workplace, it hasn't reached its full potential. Improvement in communication from leadership and structured training programs are deemed essential for maximizing the tangible benefits of AI tools for employees. Moreover, Salesforce underscores the need for technological advancements to meet the demands of diverse and complex enterprise environments. Both studies underscore that while AI adoption is progressing, the gap between current capabilities and industry needs remains substantial and will require ongoing efforts to address.

Sources: TechSpot, Gallup, Salesforce

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