Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly embedding itself into the modern workplace, but its adoption remains uneven, raising concerns about widening organisational performance gaps, workforce readiness, and the future of jobs.
This is the central finding of the “AI in the Workplace 2025” report, jointly released by the Digital Education Council and the Global Finance & Technology Network. The study provides a granular examination of how AI is being utilized, where it is falling short, and what its accelerating evolution means for employers and workers.
According to the report, 63 percent of employers say AI has been either very helpful or game-changing in boosting productivity. More than half (56 percent) of workforces now use AI daily, primarily for drafting emails, summarising documents, generating content, and brainstorming.
Yet adoption is fragmented: 29 percent of employers report that only some employees use AI, 9 percent say only a few rely on it, and 6 percent are unsure of its real penetration. This uneven landscape, the report warns, risks entrenching a new “productivity divide” defined not by access to AI, but by the ability to use it effectively.
“While some teams are realising transformative gains, others are underusing AI or applying it without the guidance needed to unlock its full potential,” the report noted.
Employers’ experiences underscore both opportunities and challenges. While 52 percent report clear productivity gains such as reduced time on repetitive tasks and faster project execution, 36 percent say the impact is mixed due to new risks like errors and oversight gaps. Another 12 percent report negligible results, highlighting that potential remains unrealised for some.
Importantly, no employer cited purely negative impacts, underscoring AI’s inherent value, even in early applications. Still, the shift is reshaping workflows in ways that demand new oversight, adaptation, and governance.
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Currently, most organisations use AI at the task-support level—information search, transcription, summarisation, and content creation. Only 39 percent are automating workflows business processes. But the report anticipates a shift to more autonomous systems, including agentic AI and physical AI in robotics, which could transform transport, manufacturing, and frontline services.
The study also highlights a growing disconnect between higher education and workplace needs. Only 3 percent of employers believe universities are adequately preparing students for an AI-enabled workplace, despite 51 percent expecting graduates to demonstrate AI proficiency. Employers overwhelmingly (92 percent) rank critical and analytical thinking as the most essential skill.
“Education providers can’t wait—AI is already in classrooms and workplaces today,” said Danny Bielik, president of the Digital Education Council.
Concerns about job losses remain strong, with 72 percent of employers expecting AI to reduce headcount, particularly in marketing, data, and operations roles. Still, 62 percent anticipate new roles such as AI integration specialists, prompt engineers, and AI ethics officers—pointing to AI’s dual impact of displacement and job creation.
Barriers to adoption persist. Employers cite data security and privacy concerns (56 percent), lack of knowledge or skills (53 percent), and absence of clear policies or governance (34 percent) as the biggest hurdles.
To bridge gaps, employers identified five top priorities for universities and colleges: AI literacy, critical thinking, ethics and responsible AI use, human-centric skills, and industry-integrated training.
The report concludes that while AI adoption is accelerating, its benefits remain unevenly distributed. Without urgent attention to governance, skills, and education reform, organisations risk deepening divides.
“As AI evolves from an assistant to an autonomous partner, the transformation of work is only beginning,” the report stated. “The coming years will test organisations’ ability not just to adopt technology but to manage change, protect workers, and redefine the human role in an AI-powered economy.”
