Is AI really improving productivity and job outcomes?

New research reveals that workers are adopting AI in the workplace at an extremely rapid rate. While this is the case, many people remain uncertain about whether it is actually improving productivity within their jobs or improving the outcomes of the jobs being done.

According to the ADP Research’s People at Work 2026 report, 44 per cent of Australian workers are using AI at least multiple times each week, with 16 per cent of Australian workers using AI nearly every day.

While on the surface this may seem a positive for workers’ productivity and output for the business, only 13 per cent of Australian workers believe that AI will positively impact their job responsibilities over the next year, further highlighting the increasing separation between adoption and confidence.

Despite 30 per cent of workers who use AI daily in their work reporting feeling fully engaged, research does reveal a gap in perceptions towards AI productivity. People who use AI daily are four times more likely to feel less productive than non-users, indicating that frequent users may feel like they have achieved less as AI becomes more integrated into their daily work.

Accordingly, organisations may need to reassess how productivity is tracked at work, with more checklist work being delegated to AI and workers transitioning to longer-term, strategic projects.

General manager for Australia, New Zealand and Japan at ADP, Kylie Baullo, said: “Australian workers are clearly embracing AI, but confidence in its value hasn’t caught up with adoption. That gap is critical.”

“As AI takes over routine tasks, employees are spending more time on complex, strategic work, which can feel less tangible and harder to measure.”

In terms of the impacts on employees’ mental health, the report deems that the use of AI can contribute to a more positive workplace experience. Frequent AI users report stronger team dynamics. They are more likely to say they are part of a work team and more likely to report being on the “best team” at work. Daily users are also more likely than less frequent users to feel their jobs are safe from elimination, indicating a strong link between regular AI use and job confidence.

ADP chief economist Dr Nela Richardson said: “AI is not only changing how work gets done, but also how people feel at work. Data shows that frequent AI users report higher engagement and lower stress. But they also feel less productive.”

“Employers that help workers transition to new ways of working with the technology can better foster a workplace where AI feels less like a disruption and more like a teammate.”

AI adoption does, in fact, vary across regions on a global scale. In terms of daily AI usage, reports show that 41 per cent of workers in India say they use AI on a daily basis, with Nigeria (39 per cent) and Vietnam (36 per cent) also being global leaders in terms of daily AI usage.

Within Australia, workers are indeed hesitant about AI, with only 13 per cent feeling that AI will positively impact their job responsibilities in the coming year. Knowledge-based workers feel most confident about AI, with 22 per cent believing AI will have a positive effect on their job responsibilities, higher compared to skilled task workers (9 per cent) and repetitive task workers (6 per cent).

In Australia, workers aged 27–39 are the most frequent AI users, with 28 per cent of them using AI almost daily. On average, men are using AI more frequently than women, with 18 per cent of men saying they use AI every day compared to 13 per cent of women.

Although frequent AI users report higher engagement and job confidence alongside lower stress, it is clear that global adoption and productivity perceptions are significantly varied.

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