Does AI save employees time? OpenAI reveals a disappointing reality.

A company report reveals a finding that contradicts prevailing expectations

Does AI save employees time? OpenAI reveals a disappointing reality.

A recent report by the artificial intelligence company OpenAI provides an in-depth look at how companies are using AI tools within their organizations. The report is based on anonymized usage data from over one million enterprise customers.

In addition, it includes a survey of 9,000 employees across nearly 100 organizations. The report states that in the surveyed organizations, 75% of employees reported that using AI at work improved either the speed or quality of their productivity.

The report indicates that "75% of users reported being able to accomplish new tasks they were previously unable to perform," according to a report by the technology news site CNET. However, the productivity gains may not be as widespread as expected. According to the report, ChatGPT Enterprise users save less than one hour per day on average.

Despite the media hype surrounding the use of artificial intelligence in the workplace, the latest OpenAI data suggests that the real-world gains for most employees remain limited. The report states that ChatGPT Enterprise users save an average of only 40 to 60 minutes per day.

While this isn't insignificant, it falls short of the dramatic productivity boost many had hoped for. In a workday filled with meetings, emails, and a multitude of tools, a single hour saved may seem like a small benefit rather than a significant productivity leap.

The OpenAI report indicates that AI adoption within companies is growing rapidly. Weekly messages on ChatGPT Enterprise have increased nearly eightfold in the past year, and the use of structured workflows, such as custom generic task templates, has increased 19-fold. Companies are also moving towards more sophisticated prompts, with the use of inference tokens increasing more than 320-fold.

However, the results don't quite match this rapid growth. Employees report that they are completing certain tasks faster—such as resolving IT issues, creating campaigns, and improving coding—yet the total daily gains are still only about one hour on average. OpenAI data reveals a growing gap between “advanced” users—defined by OpenAI as those in the top 5% of users in terms of adoption intensity—and the average employee.

Advanced users send approximately six times more messages than the average user. Unsurprisingly, these advanced users are reaping even greater gains, exceeding 10 hours per week. They are building AI-centric workflows, automating routine tasks, and transforming the tool into a reliable colleague rather than an occasional assistant. However, saving around two hours a day is still a relatively average amount.

OpenAI presents the report as a snapshot of the current state of AI in enterprises, not as a definitive judgment. The company points out that future gains may not stem from the model itself, but rather from how organizations reshape their processes and workflows to align with it. However, for most workers, AI remains a useful tool, not a transformative one.