- The total number of AI users is actually flatlining, major new report finds
- Regular users are up slightly, indicative of more use cases
- Companies are also focusing on strengthening their data foundations
New research from Gallup has claimed AI adoption could actually be flatlining after an initial burst of excitement, with daily AI use up just two percentage points in Q4 2025 and frequent AI use up three percentage points quarter-over-quarter.
In fact, the report found the overall total number of AI users remained flat, and half (49%) of US workers say they never use AI in their role at all.
The figures also highlight sector biases, with technology, finance and professional users most likely to use AI, together with education such as college, university and K-12.
How many workers are actually using AI?
The biggest rise came from so-called ‘remote-capable’ roles, or those that are desk-based, more than doubling from 28% in 2023 to 66% in 2025. Non-remote-capable roles look to be around two years behind, at 32%.
Gallup also found leaders (69%) and managers (55%) are more likely to use AI compared with individual contributors (40%).
But more importantly, there’s a clear divide between deployment and actual usage. Seperate new research from Hitachi Vantara found most companies (98%) are using, piloting or exploring AI, suggesting they could be investing blindly without pinpointing actual use cases.
Poor setups are also likely holding companies back from getting the ROI they hope for, with 95% of organizations getting zero return on their generative AI investments due to infrastructure gaps.
Only 42% consider themselves data-mature even though high-quality data was identified as the top driver for AI success.
“AI succeeds when the data behind it is trusted, well-governed and resilient,” Hitachi Vantara CEO Sheila Rohra commented.
Looking ahead, the two reports suggest that existing workers will rely on AI more often before more workers get onboard with the tech, with clear use cases driving adoption more than meaningless investments. Hitachi Vantara’s report furthers this by asserting that trust, security and governance must also be a key focus moving forward to iron out fears of breaches and leaks, unreliable outputs and regulatory risks.
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