April 15, 2026 Half of employed U.S. adults now use artificial intelligence in their work, according to a new Gallup poll. Daily and weekly usage is also moving from occasional experimentation to regular integration into workplace tasks. 

The survey, conducted between February 4 and February 19, 2026, gathered responses from 23,717 employees and found AI adoption has grown from 21 per cent in mid-2023 to 50 per cent in early 2026. Daily usage reached a record 13 per cent, while 28 per cent of workers now use AI either daily or a few times a week.

The data reflects a broader surge in enterprise investment and experimentation. Major technology firms continue to scale spending, with Alphabet doubling its AI expenditure to $180 billion this year. At the same time, organisations are still working through how to translate adoption into measurable returns, with a separate survey from the National Bureau of Economic Research reporting that more than 80 per cent of companies using AI have yet to see productivity gains tied directly to cost reduction or workforce optimisation.

Inside organisations, the impact is uneven. Gallup found that 27 per cent of employees at AI-using companies reported significant disruption to their workplace over the past year, compared with 12 per cent at companies not using AI. Hiring patterns are also moving in both directions: 34 per cent of employees at AI-adopting firms said their companies are expanding headcount, while 23 per cent reported workforce reductions, compared with 28 per cent and 16 per cent respectively at non-AI firms.

Employee sentiment remains broadly positive despite the disruption. Sixty-five percent of workers at AI-enabled organisations said the technology is improving productivity and efficiency, including 16 per cent who described the impact as extremely positive. At the same time, 10 per cent reported negative effects on their work and 21 per cent said AI is fundamentally changing how tasks are completed.

Usage patterns suggest AI is being applied tactically rather than holistically. Respondents highlighted benefits in specific tasks such as summarising information, but fewer indicated that AI is improving overall workplace systems or structures. The gap between individual productivity gains and organisation-wide transformation remains a defining tension in the data.