80% of Employees Want to Use AI More Than Their Jobs Allow
PR Newswire•09/10/2026•09:00 ET
0
Key Highlights
- ➤$6 trillion potential GDP gain from a uniform 5% productivity increase
- ➤80% of employees want more AI use than their jobs currently permit
- ➤Up to 82% say current workplace AI tools do not fit their needs
- ➤72% of workers are Navigators or Stalwarts, the highest-leverage adoption groups
- ➤Architects report 87% use unsanctioned tools when approved options fall short
Expert Statements
Ravi Kumar S, Chief Executive Officer of Cognizant
“Our research finds that people are ahead of their employers. Willingness is the hardest part of any technology shift, and it's already in hand. What's ahead is the work of context: shaping tools to the rules, the workflows and the execution patterns of how a particular team gets things done. Context-specific tools perform where generic ones stall. That's the work we do with clients every day, and it's the opportunity in front of every company right now.”
Surya Gummadi, President – Americas of Cognizant
“dissatisfaction with workplace AI tools isn't confined to skeptics or newcomers. It's a near-universal experience, cutting across employees who are highly engaged with AI and those who are not. We partner with our clients to identify and implement the AI solutions best designed to drive their business results. And our experience across thousands of activations, combined with this new research, aims to help us deliver at scale for even the largest organizations.”
Ravi Kumar S, Chief Executive Officer of Cognizant
“For the technology to unlock the roughly $6 trillion in potential GDP growth that AI could provide, companies must simultaneously provide context-specific tools to a receptive employee base while also improving their training programs to customize them for different personas and increase their effectiveness at producing real results.”
80% of Employees Want to Use AI More Than Their Jobs Allow PR Newswire
The "Activation Gap" could be leaving trillions in potential global economic gains unrealized, according to new research from Cognizant
Get started
Create a free account to read the full story.
