Insights from a Microsoft and LinkedIn report that every integrator should know about generative AI’s impact on work and the labor market.
In the last six months, use of generative AI for work purposes has nearly doubled—at least according to the latest Work Trend Index report from Microsoft and LinkedIn. (LinkedIn also notes a significant increase in the number of professionals adding AI skills to their profiles during this same time.)
While most leaders say they wouldn’t hire someone without AI skills, according to the report, they’re also worried that their company lacks an AI vision and that employees may bring their own (unvetted) AI tools to work.
The report from Microsoft and LinkedIn isn’t specific to integrators, but it does contain information that every professional should know about AI’s impact on work and the labor market.
Use of Generative AI Is Being Spurred On by Employees
Although AI sometimes aligns with job loss in people’s minds, the report offers a more nuanced view, showing that AI isn’t being used to replace jobs but augment them.
As many employees struggle to keep up with the pace and volume of work, their most leaders (55%) are concerned about finding and retaining enough talent to fill roles. In other words, the workload isn’t getting lighter for employees. As a result, 75% of knowledge workers now use AI to save time, boost creativity, and focus on their most important tasks.
Of these AI users, 78% are choosing to bring their own AI tools to work, which means they’re missing out on the benefits that come from the strategic use of AI at scale while also putting company data at risk.
They’re also teaching themselves how to use the technology instead of learning from employers how they should use it. Only 39% of AI users have received AI training from their company, and only 25% of companies expect to offer that kind of training this year.
Power Users Drive AI Success
With the majority of workers now using generative AI, Microsoft and LinkedIn identified four types of users:
- Skeptics
- Novices
- Explorers
- Power users
A close examination of power users demonstrates that, once you know how to use generative AI, it can pay off. For example, this group saves more than 30 minutes a day with AI. More than nine out of 10 power users say that generative AI:
- Makes their workload more manageable
- Boosts their creativity
- Helps them focus on their most important work
- Motivates them
- Helps them enjoy work more
Power users are also more likely to experiment with different ways to use AI, try out new prompts, continue trying when they don’t get the response they need the first time, and pause before a task to determine whether AI can help.
What do they use AI for? A variety of things:
- Catching up on missed meetings (56%)
- Analyzing information (51%)
- Designing visual content (49%)
- Interacting with customers (49%)
- Brainstorming and problem-solving (37%)
The Types of Companies that Cultivate Power Users
These power users also tend to work for certain types of companies.
For example, within these organizations where power users rise above, the CEOs, department leaders, and managers are more likely to have open conversations about using generative AI at work.
Leaders are also more likely to embrace innovation and offer encouragement to employees who are using technology to transform and streamline their roles.
Power users are also 37% more likely to say that their company offers AI learning programs, meaning that they are being trained on things like:
- Prompt writing
- How to use AI for their specific role
- How to use AI to complete a certain function
While we covered just a few of the insights here, there’s much more to uncover in the full report. Read it here!
