SNEAKY office staff are secretly using AI to outsmart colleagues and boost their image – with men, Gen Z workers and ad executives the worst offenders.
In a new survey, four out of ten people admitted using the technology on the quiet to impress the boss and get ahead.
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Of them, 13 per cent said they regularly use generative AI, or gen-AI — the type that writes reports, letters and company social media posts at high speed — to do work which they then pass off as their own.
Men are more likely to be sneaky about using AI than women, with 45 per cent admitting to it, compared to just 36 per cent of women.
But Britain’s youngest workers are the worst offenders, with 59 per cent of 18 to 24-year-olds — known as Generation Z — owning up to it.
That compares with 48 per cent of Millennials — those aged 25 to 39 — and just 35 per cent of Generation X — those aged 40 to 55.
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A mere 19 per cent of Baby Boomers — aged 55 or over — admitted being users.
Researchers also found 70 per cent of advertising executives said they had used AI trickery.
IT professionals came second with 55 per cent, then finance workers on 50 per cent, sales staff on 46 per cent, factory workers on 45 per cent and lawyers on 43 per cent.
Next came builders on 40 per cent, health workers on 38 per cent, education staff on 34 per cent and travel workers on just 20 per cent.
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Overall, 67 per cent of workers said AI saved them one to five hours’ work a week and 23 per cent said it saved between six and ten hours.
The research was done by software firm SnapLogic, and chief technology officer Jeremiah Stone said: “Workplace adoption of generative AI is a bit of a Wild West scenario, but it doesn’t need to be.
“Irrespective of company approvals, workers want to use gen-AI to make their work lives easier.
“Companies need to recognise they can’t prevent gen-AI usage, so they must empower staff with the skills, knowledge and rules to ensure it can be used productively and safely.”
