Official Stats Show No One is Using AI. Why?

Official stats who that almost no one is using AI. That’s the surprising conclusion of several official surveys of businesses in the United States, Canada and the UK, as reported in the Economist Magazine.

As of 2024, the surveys found that only about 6-8% of businesses were using AI in their actual business processes. Yet big tech companies invested $300 billion in the tech last year.

So what gives? Is this a giant bubble?

Here’s what I think is really going on:

TL;DR: Official stats ask companies questions like “Are you using AI to create your core products/services?”

Most companies will, truthfully, say “no.”

That’s because many companies haven’t yet baked AI into their processes.

But their workers? They’re gleefully using AI tools every day to make their work easier, faster and more efficient.

Zoom in from the company level to the worker level, and the stats change dramatically. Gallup says that at least 35% of people report using AI in their work.

But those are just the people who realize they’re using it. If you ask people about their use of tools with AI baked in—think AI powered tools in Photoshop or an AI driven report in Quickbooks that people may not realize are using AI—that number surges as high as 99%.

In short, everyone is using AI at work in some capacity.

Doctors are asking ChatGPT for a second opinion. Writers are using it to quadruple their output. Lawyers—we’ve seen through bitter experience—are using it to write briefs!

People just aren’t necessarily telling their boss, “Hey, I used ChatGPT to write my client proposal in two days instead of five, so now I’m taking Wednesday, Thursday and Friday off to catch up on Succession.”

Or if they’re more studious, perhaps they’re taking on more responsibilities at work, or running a side hustle, with the time that energy that AI frees up.

In short, the AI revolution is already here. It’s just happening at the level of the individual worker, not the company.

So, ignore the official stats. It may be true that many companies haven’t yet officially adopted AI. But whether they know it or not, AI is there—thanks to their workers—quietly making their businesses run better.

Lots more analysis (and some slightly wonky audio; sorry) here: