The Data: Most workers think AI will affect their jobs. They disagree on how.

An ADP Research Institute survey asked nearly 35,000 private-sector workers in 18 countries what role they think AI will play in their work over the next few years.

Find key findings from this research below. To view the entire story, click here to visit the ADP Research Institute’s Data Lab.

This research is also featured in Issue 6 of the ADP Research Institute’s quarterly Today at Work.

Key Findings

• Most workers believe AI will affect their job. Eighty-five percent of workers believe AI will impact their job in the next two to three years. Those same workers are split on whether they think AI will help them in the workplace or replace some of their job functions.
  • 19% believe AI will help them save time on a daily basis
  • 25% believe AI will occasionally help them with certain tasks
  • 28% believe AI will replace some of their existing functions
  • 13% believe AI will replace most of their existing functions
  • For reference, 8% believe AI will have no impact, while 7% don’t know enough about AI to make a selection
     
• Location matters. Worker sentiment about AI varies regionally. Survey respondents in Latin America are the most likely to think AI will help them with their work.
  • 55% of respondents in Latin America believe AI will help them in the next two to three years, compared to...
  • 45% in Asia Pacific
  • 38% in North America
  • 32% in Europe
     
• Worker confidence plays a role. Workers who think AI will help them have more confidence in their skills and are more likely to say they have the skills necessary to advance their career.
  • 70% of respondents who believe AI will help them save time on a daily basis say they have the skills needed to advance their career to the next job level within three years, compared to...
  • 65% who believe AI will occasionally help them with certain tasks
  • 54% who believe it will have no impact
  • 58% who believe it will replace some of their existing functions
  • 45% who believe it will replace most of their existing functions
  • 49% who don’t know enough about AI to make a selection
     
• Younger workers believe AI will affect them. But the younger the workers, the more evenly split they are on whether AI will help them or replace their job functions.
  • 45% of 18- to 24-year-olds believe AI will help them in the next two to three years, compared to...
  • 45% of 25- to 34-year-olds
  • 43% of 35- to 44-year-olds
  • 39% of 45- to 54-year-olds
  • 36% of 55-year-olds and up