Unlocking the full potential of GenAI

Where are businesses seeing the benefits?

Enhanced productivity is a demonstrable benefit for almost all GenAI users.

4 in 5 agree (81%) that GenAI saves them time and means they are more productive in their role

How much time per week do you save using GenAI?

0 hours
1-2 hours
3-4 hours
5-6 hours
7-8 hours
8 plus

4 in 5 (81%) agree that GenAI saves them time and means they are more productive in their role.

The results show there is a correlation between time spent and time saved. This illustrates there is a strong business case for knowledge and senior workers using GenAI as well as using it for workforce automation at the administrative layer.

Lack of Recognition of GenAI in Automation

A surprising 42% of organisations view GenAI primarily as a personal productivity tool, underestimating its potential to drive widespread automation.

Automation use cases remain underutilised, with businesses failing to capitalise on GenAI's ability to streamline entire operations, not just individual tasks.

Is GenAI just a personal productivity tool, or could it be the catalyst for a new era of automation and efficiency?

Which of the following do you see as the biggest benefits for you personally from using GenAI in your role? Please choose up to 5 in order of importance.

How organisations are leveraging the time savings from GenAI to drive innovation, explore new business opportunities, and foster a more creative and productive work environment?

Time Savings Redirected to Business Impact and Innovation:

GenAI users are not simply focusing on cost savings. 63% of users report that they use time savings to work on higher-value tasks, driving greater business impact, exploring new business ideas, and innovating.

Only 35% cite cost reduction as the primary focus, suggesting a shift towards leveraging GenAI for long-term growth and innovation.

What do these productivity gains look like in practice?

The average employee saves c. 5 hours/ week, 20 hours/month or 32 days/year
An organisation with 1,000 users could save 32,000 days/year
Based on average EU labor costs, this is worth approx. €6.8 million*
If Copilot for Microsoft 365 costs approx. €30 user/month, then simplistically:

In GDP terms, with a workforce of c. 200 million in the EU, this could equate to:

€30 billion boost

to the European economy every week

*https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/

View the stats >

How are people reinvesting their time?

Over half of respondents across all role types say GenAI helps them make better decisions because they have access to data. Some suggest it enhances their learning and skills development. While others also point to the collaborative benefits.

I use Copilot to automate many tasks and minutes of meetings. I use it every day. I always ask myself if what I’m working on can be done and in a better way with AI.

Respondent, France

It has personally impacted me in ways such as helping speed up research tasks and streamlining performing some basic tasks.

Respondent, UK

Which of the following do you see as the top benefits for your organisation from using GenAI? Please choose up to 5 in order of importance

Limited View
of GenAI’s Potential Beyond Decision Support

60% of organisations focus on decision-making improvements, with only 34% recognising GenAI’s potential to enhance broader operational processes.

This limited view hinders organisations from exploring more advanced use cases like automation, which could transform their business.

GenAI is a life-saver that has not only helped my efficiency but has enhanced my productivity. The invention of the GenAI through ChatGPT, Copilot, has been a major breakthrough in my recent success and productiveness at work.

Respondent, Netherlands

It is very good technology and is greatly enhancing my technical skills and it is enabling me to be even more productive in my job.

Respondent, UK

It has overall had a positive change to my work life including personal workload as well as managing and supporting my team, it makes an extra colleague essentially on our team.

Respondent, UK