AI Use Surges at Work, Yet Worries Over AI’s Impact Grow

What began as a novelty on Nov. 30, 2022, has become a fixture of modern life. ChatGPT, OpenAI’s AI chatbot, is now being used for everything from aiding workplace productivity to helping answer questions about life and the universe. The latest polls indicate that while AI usage is up over the last few years, skepticism of its impact on the world is also growing.

Gallup has been asking about AI use in the workplace since 2023, shortly after ChatGPT was first unveiled. In 2023, only 21% said they used AI for work a few times a year, 11% a few times a week, and 4% daily. In 2024, those numbers increased slightly, to 27% a few times a year, 12% a few times a week, and still 4% daily. In its second-quarter 2025 poll, however, AI workplace use had nearly doubled from the 2024 data. The number of people who use it a few times per year jumped to 40%, a few times a week to 19%, and daily to 8%.

More employers and organizational leaders have started introducing AI or using it formally in their business processes. In the 2025 poll, 44% of respondents reported that their organization had begun integrating AI tools. Fewer had a specific plan for integrating AI, at just 22%.

Some of the benefits of AI are only seen by people actively integrating it. For example, 68% of employees who had used AI to interact with customers, through services like website chat assistants or AI-powered call services, said it had a positive effect on customer interactions, while only 13% of those who hadn’t used AI with customers believed it would.

The increased use of AI chatbots can also be seen in their ever-growing user bases. In November 2022, OpenAI Chief Operating Officer Brad Lightcap claimed that ChatGPT had 1 million weekly users. In November 2023, that number jumped to 100 million; by December 2024, it had reached 300 million; and the latest numbers from April 2025 put it at 500 million weekly users. This growth has helped drive revenue, with the company reaching $10 billion in annual recurring revenue as of June 2025.

While ChatGPT remains the most-used AI service, others are catching up. According to a poll from ElonUniversity, 72% said they had used ChatGPT, 50% said they had used Google’s Gemini, 39% Microsoft Copilot, 20% Meta’s LLaMa, and 12% xAI’s Grok.

Growing AI Skepticism

Even as AI tools become more integrated into everyday life, public doubt about their long-term impact remains high. In a Pew Research poll, 35% said they believe AI will harm the United States over the next 20 years, while just 17% said it will have a positive effect. Only 23% expressed optimism about how AI will affect jobs, 21% about its impact on the economy, and just 7% on personal relationships.

One of the top concerns is deepfakes, AI-generated audio and video designed to seem realistic, which had 85% of respondents worried in another poll from YouGov. A real-world “Skynet” is also a concern, with 37% saying they are worried about AI causing the end of the human race, while 49% said they are not very or not at all concerned.