More job fears and higher AI adoption identified in APAC workers

Generative AI (GenAI) uptake and technology fears were found to be higher for workers in the Asia-Pacific region compared to other workers globally, a report has found.

For its report, AI at Work: Is Asia Pacific Leading the Way?, Boston Consulting Group (BCG) collected responses from over 4,500 employees across nine countries in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region in July 2025.

AI uptake and job fears by market

India led the APAC region in AI adoption, with 92 per cent of Indian workers having adopted AI. In contrast, only 51 per cent of Japanese employees adopted the tool. Despite leading in adoption, 48 per cent of Indian employees expressed fear of AI-caused job loss.

The report said this duality underscores perception complexity across markets. Additionally, Thailand (71 per cent), South Korea (66 per cent), and Singapore (65 per cent) exhibited high levels of fear surrounding AI-caused job loss, whereas Japan showed the least concern (40 per cent).

Further, the report found that AI optimism was highest for Chinese (70 per cent), Indonesian (69 per cent), and Malaysian workers (68 per cent). Japanese workers were one of the least AI optimistic markets, at 46 per cent.

Seventy per cent of APAC frontline workers in non-managerial white-collar jobs (frontline workers) reported using GenAI weekly, compared to 51 per cent globally. Relatedly, more APAC workers (78 per cent) used AI at least weekly, compared to 72 per cent globally – this “bottom-up adoption mode” suggests cultural dynamism in the region’s workplace practices, the report said.

BCG’s managing director, senior partner and co-author of the report, Jeff Walters, said the APAC region’s ecosystem of AI use is a blend of grassroots innovation and digital ambition. This introduces challenges to governance, workflow design, and employee support, he said.

Education and governance gap

The report stated that the widespread informal use of GenAI tools reflects both employee enthusiasm and impatience. It revealed that 58 per cent of APAC workers said they would use AI even without formal company approval, while only 57 per cent reported that their companies are redesigning workflows for effective integration of AI. The report warned that without proper governance, companies could risk security and productivity losses.

Although leading in adoption, frontline workers also felt exposed to the risks that AI technologies bring, with over one in two (53 per cent) fearing AI-caused job loss, which was higher than the global average of 36 per cent. Further, the survey found that global AI optimism sat at 52 per cent, while APAC AI optimism sat at 60 per cent. The report suggested that the difference indicates a mix of hope and anxiety.

APAC workers were largely (77 per cent) experimenting with, or deploying, autonomous AI agents, found the report. Even with this widespread adoption, only one in three (33 per cent) of these workers reported having a proficient understanding of these technologies, indicating a significant education and governance gap, the report suggested.

Support for AI implementation

The survey’s findings revealed that employees who reported feeling supported by leadership were also likely to report higher job satisfaction and greater optimism regarding career prospects. Frontline workers were least supported, the data found, resulting in lower job satisfaction and growth optimism.

BCG managing director and partner Jinseok Jang said the gap between experimentation and execution must be dealt with before high AI-usage can have a real impact. Jang said: “That means top-down governance, upskilling, and a clear AI narrative that aligns with employee expectations.”