6.1 million workers, mostly women in administrative roles, are vulnerable to AI

Americans have started bringing artificial intelligence into their daily work routines at speeds that caught many by surprise, new polling data shows.

A fresh Gallup Workforce survey reveals that 12% of working adults now turn to AI every single day on the job. The research, which questioned more than 22,000 employed Americans this fall, shows how quickly these tools have spread through offices and workplaces nationwide.

Around one in four workers tap into AI at least several times each week, the survey found. Close to half reported using these technologies at least a handful of times annually. That marks a big jump from 2023, when just 21% said they used AI even occasionally. The shift comes after ChatGPT kicked off a massive surge in AI tools that can handle tasks like drafting emails, writing code, boiling down lengthy reports, making images, and fielding questions.

Gene Walinski, who works at a Home Depot in New Smyrna Beach, Florida, represents this new wave of AI users. The 70-year-old pulls out his phone about once every hour during his shift to ask an AI assistant about products in the electrical department when he runs into items he doesn’t know inside and out.

“I think my job would suffer if I couldn’t because there would be a lot of shrugged shoulders and ‘I don’t know’ and customers don’t want to hear that,” Walinski explained.

Technology workers stand at the front of the AI adoption wave

Around 6 out of every 10 people in tech jobs use AI several times weekly, with roughly 3 in 10 using it daily. The numbers show a big increase since 2023, though signs point to growth possibly leveling off after the sharp spike between 2024 and 2025.

Finance workers have also jumped on board. Andrea Tanzi, a 28-year-old investment banker at Bank of America in New York, uses AI daily to process documents and data that would otherwise eat up hours of his time. He also relies on the bank’s internal AI assistant, Erica, for routine administrative work.

Most people working in professional services, colleges and universities, or elementary and high school education now use AI at least occasionally throughout the year.

Joyce Hatzidakis, a 60-year-old high school art teacher in Riverside, California, began testing AI chatbots to polish up messages she sends to parents.

“I can scribble out a note and not worry about what I say and then tell it what tone I want,” she said. “And then, when I reread it, if it’s not quite right, I can have it edited again. I’m definitely getting less parent complaints.”

Another Gallup survey from last year found that about 6 in 10 workplace AI users depend on chatbots or virtual helpers. Around 4 in 10 tap AI to pull together information, spark ideas, or pick up new skills.

Hatzidakis started with ChatGPT before moving to Google’s Gemini when her school district chose it as the official platform. She’s even used it for writing recommendation letters, noting “there’s only so many ways to say a kid is really creative.”

Both the AI business world and the U.S. government keep pushing for more AI use in workplaces and schools. Companies need more buyers to make sense of the enormous sums poured into building and running power-hungry AI systems. But experts disagree on whether these tools will actually lift productivity or hurt job prospects.

“Most of the workers that are most highly exposed to AI, who are most likely to have it disrupt their workflows, for good or for bad, have these characteristics that make them pretty adaptable,” said Sam Manning, a fellow at the Centre for the Governance of AI.

Manning noted these computer-based workers usually have more education, broader skill sets, and bigger savings to help them weather job loss.

Millions face AI disruption without safety net

However, Manning’s research identified about 6.1 million American workers who face heavy AI exposure but lack the tools to adapt easily. Many handle administrative and clerical duties, roughly 86% are women, and they tend to be older and live in smaller cities like college towns or state capitals with fewer career options.

“If their skills are automated, they have less transferable skills to other jobs and they have a lower savings, if any savings,” Manning said.

A separate 2025 Gallup survey found that few employees think new technology, automation, robots, or AI will likely wipe out their jobs within five years. Half said it’s not at all likely, down slightly from about 6 in 10 in 2023.

Rev. Michael Bingham, pastor at Faith Community Methodist Church in Jacksonville, Florida, isn’t worried. A chatbot gave him nonsense when he asked about medieval theologian Anselm of Canterbury, and he said he’d never ask a “soulless” machine to help write sermons.

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