UK workers spend nearly £1 billion of their own money on AI for work, Deloitte finds
Searching for information, drafting emails and creating summaries were the most popular tasks
A Deloitte survey found that nearly six out of every 10 workers in Britain are spending their own money on AI tools to assist with work tasks, costing them around £1 billion (S$1.8 billion) annually. The inaugural GenAI Workforce Survey revealed that two-thirds of workers had experimented with AI tools like ChatGPT, Claude, Google Gemini and Microsoft Copilot, with nearly a quarter using them daily.
Thirty-one percent of respondents were using generative AI without their employers' knowledge, and 17 percent were personally funding the use of at least one such tool for work purposes. Deloitte UK's chief AI officer, Hayley McKelvey, stated that UK workers are eager to leverage generative AI without seeking permission, often resorting to free tools or paying for premium versions to enhance productivity.
The most frequently utilized AI applications at work were searching for information, drafting emails, and creating summaries, saving workers an average of 70 minutes per week. Deloitte partner Paul Lee emphasized that while generative AI has become an integral part of daily work, its impact remains limited to basic tasks rather than more complex work processes.
He stressed that organizations that truly benefit from AI will not only provide access to tools but also establish appropriate guardrails and define clear purposes for their use. The survey, conducted among 25,000 workers by Ipsos for Deloitte, underscores the rapid adoption of AI in the British workforce.
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