What Keeps Workers from Using AI on the Job? (STATISTA)
What Keeps Workers from Using AI on the Job?
by Felix Richter,
Sep 29, 2026
While 4 in 10 workers surveyed for PwC’s Global Workforce Hopes and Fears Survey reported using AI tools at work at least weekly, making them an integral part of their work life, more than half of the almost 50,000 respondents said they used AI a few times a year or not at all, which was the case for 36 percent of workers.
The reasons standing in the way of even broader adoption of AI tools are manifold. Among all respondents, concerns about accuracy and quality were the most cited barrier to AI use at work, named by 25 percent of all respondents and by more than 30 percent of frequent AI users. In second place was the lack of opportunities to use AI, which 23 percent of workers identified as an inhibiting factor to broader professional adoption.
Interestingly, a perceived lack of opportunities to use AI was by far the most cited barrier among non-users at 34 percent. While there are certainly professions with limited potential for AI use, some of this may also be a lack of awareness for what AI tools and agents in particular are already capable of. Another important factor keeping workers from experimenting with AI is a lack of incentives. If workers aren’t recognized or rewarded for developing AI skills, many don’t see the point in doing so.
My Summary
Non-users have less concerns about the quality and accuracy of AI. Rather they see few opportunities for using AI, few incentives to use it, and that the employer may not allow it. On the other hand users are more likely to be concerned about negative consequences, unclear company policies, lack of skills, the employer limits access, and they don't find it useful. Those who did not use AI were only slightly more likely to fear that AI would replace human work.
Four in 10 Workers Use AI on the Job
As AI is reshaping the (working) world at breakneck speed, workers have no choice but to adapt to the new realities and requirements or risk being left behind. According to the survey, 64 percent of workers reported having used generative AI tools at work in the past 12 months, up 10 percentage points from the previous year.At the other end of the spectrum, 36 percent of respondents haven’t used AI tools at work in the past year, and another 19 percent said they only used AI once or a few times. Only 10 percent of workers reported daily use of AI agents so far, even though many experts see agentic AI as a key to unlocking AI’s full potential in the workplace.
You will find more infographics at Statista