Source page: McKinsey & Company
Commentary
Leaders underestimate employees' AI use
Artificial Intelligence | Generative AI | Workplace
March 4, 2025 – Workers are adopting AI technology faster than many of their leaders realize. This finding is one of several highlighted in McKinsey’s latest report, Superagency in the Workplace. All this week, our data visualizations will focus on themes from this report, such as employee enthusiasm for AI and the technology’s economic potential. For more, see the report.
Employees are more ready to adopt AI in the workplace than business leaders realize, note Senior Partner Lareina Yee and coauthors. C-suite leaders estimate that only 4 percent of employees use gen AI for at least 30 percent of their daily work, according to McKinsey surveys. However, this estimate falls short; 13 percent of employees report that they use gen AI at that level.
To read the report, see “Superagency in the workplace: Empowering people to unlock AI’s full potential,” January 28, 2025.
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Visual form
Two-column stacked bar chart with connector lines.
Layout / body structure
The chart is a side-by-side comparison between the C-suite and employees, with each column stacked by expected timing of gen-AI use for more than 30 percent of daily tasks. Read the category labels on the left, then compare the height of the matching segments across the two columns from top to bottom.
What is being compared
It compares how leaders and employees estimate the timeline for substantial gen-AI use in everyday work. The categories include already using, less than a year, one to five years, over five years, do not anticipate it, and not sure.
Measurement system
The chart is measured in percent of respondents, and each stacked segment carries its own percentage label. The two bars use the same categorical stack order so differences between leadership expectations and employee self-reporting can be read directly across the columns.
Visible structure inside the graphic
The graphic is built from two tall stacked bars with thin connector lines tying corresponding categories together across the gap. A shaded triangular bridge and 3x annotation emphasize the contrast between the top near-term-use segments in the two groups.
Main takeaway from the visual
The visual shows that employees report much heavier near-term or current gen-AI use than the C-suite expects. The employee column allocates far more share to already using and less than a year, while the leadership column is dominated by the one-to-five-years segment.
Key standout values or extremes
Employees report 13 percent already using gen AI for more than 30 percent of daily tasks and 34 percent expecting that level of use within less than a year, versus just 4 percent and 16 percent in the C-suite estimates. The C-suite places 56 percent in the one-to-five-years bucket, while employees put only 37 percent there, creating the largest visible gap in the middle of the chart.
Controls / sequence, when applicable
This is a static chart image with no in-chart controls to operate.
Companion media, when applicable
There is no separate companion audio or video; the chart image is the full visual on this page.