New report reveals leadership's commitment to AI integration
A third of employees across the world have received a salary increase thanks to AI, according to a new report, which revealed growing trust in the rapidly developing technology.
A survey by Freshworks among 4,000 adults in seven countries found 38% saying that AI helped them get a salary bump or a promotion.
But the benefits of AI don't stop there - three in four employees also said AI is improving their workload and making their workdays more positive.
In fact, 98% of the respondents said they are getting time back in their workday because of AI, and are using the saved time to:
Mika Yamamoto, chief customer and marketing officer at Freshworks, said their findings indicate a shift to a "people-first AI."
"People-first AI doesn't replace people, it works alongside them," Yamamoto said in the report. "It can transform organisations by removing busywork and accelerating productivity, enabling people to do more with less, improving both customer and employee satisfaction. AI is also freeing up time and resources for reinvestment in innovation and more strategic work."
The data comes in the wake of fresh findings from the World Economic Forum that revealed 41% of employers worldwide are planning to downsize their workforce where AI can replicate people's work.
However, 77% of employers are also planning to reskill and upskill their employees to better work alongside AI, according to the report.
Freshworks' data supports this as it found that leaders are investing not only in AI tools, but also AI skills. According to the report, 68% of leaders will pay to support employee upskilling in AI.
Another 55% also said they are looking for AI skills when considering promotions, while 45% said they plan to create and hire AI-specific roles in their organisations.
Laks Srinivasan, co-founder of the Return on AI Institute, said efforts to improve the AI IQ of internal teams is the best way to generate business value from the technology.
"It's not about how much data you have or how big a model you build," Srinivasan said in the report. "It's about human behaviour. How do you change the company, the way they think, the way they behave? That's how to leverage AI for meaningful val
Freshworks' survey covered 4,000 employees, including 1,000 in the United States, 1,000 in the United Kingdom, and 500 each from Germany, France, Australia, New Zealand, and India.