20% of US workers are secretly using AI at work — if you’re one of them, here’s how you might be doing your boss a favor

If it seems like more and more people you know are adopting Artificial Intelligence tools these days, there's a reason for that. In the past few years, there's been an explosion of AI in part because advancements have made its use not only possible but practical. And while some Americans are happy about that, others remain skeptical.

A YouGov survey published this past March found that 56% of Americans use AI tools and 28% use them at least weekly. Only 31% of Americans have never used AI. And not so shockingly, Americans under 30 are more likely to use AI than their older counterparts.

Despite a high level of adoption, Americans aren't necessarily feeling all that secure about AI. A good 54% say they feel cautious, while 47% feel outright concerned. And 17% of Americans feel overwhelmed by AI — up from 11% four months prior.

These findings are consistent with Pew Research data published in April based on 2024 surveys. While 56% of AI experts think AI will have a positive impact on the U.S. in the next 20 years, only 17% of members of the general public echo this positivity. And while 47% of AI experts are more excited than concerned about an uptick in AI usage, only 11% of the general public feel similarly.

Meanwhile, a new report by StudyFinds reveals that 20% of Americans are using AI at work — in secret. Whether that's a bad thing, though, may be worth reconsidering.

These days, AI is being used across a range of industries and workplace tasks. StudyFinds says it's being utilized in everything from marketing tasks to customer support to operations. U.S. employees are also using AI to handle personnel management and product development.

Interestingly, 90% of people in a Talker Research survey cited by StudyFinds say they've used AI for both personal tasks as well as work-related ones. A good two-thirds started off using AI for personal reasons before adopting it at work.

Many AI users, however, are keeping this a secret. For some, that may be because their workplaces simply haven’t formally adopted an AI policy yet. But there may be an underlying fear that using AI is a means of gaming the system when, in reality, everyone can benefit from it.

Though some employers may not outwardly encourage AI usage at work, the data above points to a host of benefits. A good 77% of Talker Research survey respondents say AI helps them feel more confident in the quality of their work, while 75% say AI helps their business compete with larger players in their respective industries.

AI was found to be especially useful in certain workplace areas, including marketing, data analysis, design and other creative work.

Notably, research finds that “quiet AI users” are saving themselves an average of 13 hours per week. And they're also saving an average of $4,739 a month in operational costs. For daily users, that figure increases to $5,038 per month, on average.

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Clearly, there can be benefits to incorporating AI into the workplace. Yet many of those who use AI on the sly feel iffy about it. A good 19% of survey respondents said they felt customers would lose trust if they knew AI was being utilized, while a full 18% received direct customer complaints about AI.

So will more U.S. employers adopt AI? That's questionable. An early 2025 report by McKinsey found that while workers seem ready to embrace AI, leaders are slowing them down.

While 92% of companies plan to invest more in AI over the next three years, only 1% believe they've already fully developed AI tools for their business. That's in spite of the fact that per McKinsey research, AI presents an opportunity to capture $4.4 trillion in productivity growth.

Still, some of the data on AI’s upside seems to be mixed. Last year, the Bipartisan Policy Center found that while AI commonly improves worker productivity, those gains were the most obvious among the least skilled and productive workers. It also found that AI sometimes has no significant impact on productivity and it may even reduce it.

Still, in a May 2025 survey by PwC, 88% of senior executives say they plan to increase their AI budgets in the next 12 months. So there’s positive indication that in the coming years, a growing number of companies will not only allow workers to use AI, but invest in it to improve productivity and stay competitive.

This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.