20% of US workers use AI for tasks once handled by colleagues

A new poll conducted by nonprofit AI research centre Epoch AI in partnership with Ipsos shows that almost half of employed U.S. adults use artificial intelligence tools at work, and more than 20 percent of those users rely on AI every day for tasks that would normally be assigned to a colleague or contractor. The survey, released on Thursday, found that 1 in 5 workers now turn to AI to complete work that previously required another person’s effort. The data come from a national sample of adults aged 18 and over who are currently in paid employment.

The findings build on earlier Epoch AI research that has highlighted how AI has moved from a curiosity to a routine part of many American workflows. Earlier this year the centre reported that 53 percent of respondents used AI in the past week, but it did not specify how the technology was applied. “People are figuring out how to divide work between themselves and the AI,” said Amreeta Das, co‑lead of the research. The current poll shows that the divide is happening at the task level rather than across whole jobs, with AI now assisting in drafting contracts, designing software, pricing products and providing business advice.

The survey provides concrete numbers on the types of work AI is helping with. Just over 23 percent of respondents said they used AI in the last week to read and interpret documents, while 22 percent used it to analyze or evaluate data. In terms of tools, ChatGPT remains the most popular, used by about 34 percent of employed adults, followed by Google’s Gemini at 24 percent and Microsoft’s Copilot at 15 percent. The data also show that roughly half of those who use AI do so through workplace‑provided platforms, with the other half accessing consumer‑grade versions.

The results arrive as businesses grapple with how to adopt AI responsibly while keeping budgets in check. Industry leaders are weighing the benefits of faster, more accurate work against the risk of over‑reliance on technology. Aya Ibrahim of the AI Now Institute noted that the poll raises important questions about whether AI is simply making certain tasks more efficient or if it is edging toward replacing entire roles. As AI tools become more capable—capable now of writing large portions of code and automating complex analyses—companies will need to decide how to integrate these systems without eroding the human element that drives innovation.