According to research released by Deloitte on Wednesday and reported by Reuters, one in six employees in the UK is purchasing AI tools with their own money to assist with their work. The total annual personal expenditure by these workers amounts to nearly £1 billion, which is approximately RMB 9.061 billion at current exchange rates.

This inaugural generative AI workplace survey found that two-thirds of professionals have already experimented with AI tools such as ChatGPT, Claude, Google Gemini, and Microsoft Copilot. Furthermore, nearly a quarter of employees use these tools on a daily basis in their routine work.

The survey feedback indicates that employee adoption of AI tools is outpacing the pace at which companies are equipping their staff with these technologies. Around 31% of surveyed workers use generative AI without their employer's knowledge, a practice known as "shadow AI." Additionally, 17% of employees personally pay for at least one generative AI subscription for work-related purposes.

Hayley McKelvey, Deloitte UK's Chief AI Officer, stated: "UK workers have made their position clear - they are not willing to wait for approval before using generative AI. Many are already using free versions or paying to upgrade to premium tiers to complete their tasks with AI assistance."

The survey revealed that the primary uses of AI in the workplace include information retrieval, email drafting, and content summarization. On average, users save approximately 70 minutes of work time per week through these tools.

Deloitte partner Paul Lee noted that generative AI has quickly become integrated into daily work routines. "However, for most employees, the role AI plays remains relatively basic, primarily focused on information searching and document drafting, and has not yet been utilized for handling more complex tasks," he added.

He continued: "Which companies will reap the greatest advantages from AI? It won't be those that simply grant employees access to tools. The organizations that truly excel will focus on guiding their staff to use AI effectively within appropriate frameworks and with clear objectives."

This survey was conducted by Ipsos on behalf of Deloitte, polling 25,000 working professionals.