ifo study on AI in the workplace
Only one in five employees uses AI regularly
Only one in five employees in Germany say they regularly use artificial intelligence (AI) at work. This is the result of a new study conducted by the ifo Institute together with several other research institutes. Although around 64% of employees have already used AI, most of them only use such applications occasionally.
A key finding of the study is that the use of AI is often not initiated by the employer. "In addition, the main AI application was only introduced by the company for around a third of users - two thirds therefore use AI on their own initiative," says Oliver Schlenker, Deputy Director of the Ludwig Erhard ifo Center for the Social Market Economy.
AI usage: mainly easily accessible text tools
According to the study, individual use of AI focuses heavily on easily accessible text tools such as ChatGPT or translation programs. These applications are easily available and have low entry costs. Over 80 percent of AI users make use of such tools. In contrast, the formal, employer-driven use of AI tools focuses more on more complex or cost-intensive applications, such as diagnostic systems and speech or image processing.
Differences between self-initiated and operational AI use
At the same time, the study results point to clear differences between self-initiated and company-initiated AI use. "However, employees also report that the introduction of AI at work is associated with a higher frequency of use, more training opportunities, more AI-based supervision and higher productivity gains," says Schlenker.
The analysis is based on the second survey on the spread and effects of digitalization and changes in employment (DiWaBe 2.0) from 2024. ifo Institute conducted this survey together with the Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW), the Institute for Employment Research (IAB), the Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training (BIBB) and the Federal Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (BAuA).
In total, the survey comprises around 9,800 interviews and is representative of employees subject to social insurance contributions in Germany. The results presented show correlations and connections, but do not allow any statements to be made about causal effects.
Original publication:
"Low Barriers, High Stakes: Formal and Informal Diffusion of AI in the Workplace", by Melanie Arntz, Myriam Baum, Eduard Brüll, Ralf Dorau, Matthias Hartwig, Britta Matthes, Sophie-Charlotte Meyer, Oliver Schlenker, Anita Tisch and Sascha Wischniewski, ifo Working Papers 422/2025:
www.ifo.de/publikationen/2025/working-paper/low-barriers-high-stakes-formal-and-informal-diffusion-ai
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