Gallup finds regular AI users report the biggest gains at work

On October 6, 2026, Gallup published the first AI findings from year two of its American Job Quality Study, run with Jobs for the Future and the Families & Workers Fund. It surveyed U.S. workers only, from January 26 to March 24, 2026: 15,482 employees, 7,845 of whom had used AI in their job.

What the survey found

• 28% of employees use AI at work at least weekly; 54% have never used it in their role.
• Among users, 63% say it helps them work faster, 56% that it helps them find more creative solutions and 46% that it improves the quality of their work.
• Regular users (daily or weekly) report far larger gains: 79% say they work faster, against 38% of less frequent users.
• Regular use is more common among college graduates (40% against 17%) and managers (37% against 25% of employees without direct reports).
• 31% of users say their AI use led their employer to ask them to take on more responsibilities (38% of users aged 18 to 24).
• 52% of all employees say they have less say over new technology than they would like.

Gallup’s full report is due in late October.

What it means for your organization

The gains come mainly with regular use, so occasional access to a tool is unlikely to change much. Almost one user in three was asked to take on more responsibilities, so decide in advance what happens to the time AI saves. And with half of employees wanting more say, asking staff which tasks to try first costs little.

What to keep in mind

These are workers’ own assessments, not measured productivity, and Gallup notes they don’t show how employers would judge AI’s effects. Before rolling a tool out more widely, check what data staff would put into it and whether your plan keeps that data out of model training.

Sources

• Gallup, October 6, 2026: AI benefits at work unevenly distributed