TL;DR — Key Takeaways
– AI adoption is accelerating, but training is lagging. Nearly two-thirds (64%) of workers used AI at work over the past year, while only 51% said they had adequate access to job training.
– Daily generative AI use is rising quickly. Daily usage increased from 14% to 22%, signaling that AI is becoming embedded in everyday work.
– PwC sees a widening workforce divide. The survey separates workers into front-runners, AI insurgents, indispensables and the engine room based on AI proficiency and skill scarcity.
Artificial intelligence (AI) adoption is splitting the global workforce into two distinct speeds.
PwC’s Global Workforce Hopes and Fears Survey 2026, which polled 49,364 workers across 48 countries and territories in May and June, reveals that while workplace AI integration is accelerating rapidly, access to crucial learning and development is simultaneously falling behind.
Nearly two-thirds (64%) of employees reported using AI at work over the past year, a 10% surge compared to the previous survey iteration, according to the findings.
Daily usage of generative AI tools specifically jumped from 14% to 22%. However, only 51% of respondents stated they have adequate access to job training, representing a sharp drop from 59% in the prior period.
“There is a real risk that the global workforce is starting to move at different speeds,” said Peter Brown, Global People and Organization Leader at PwC.
To illustrate the emerging divide, PwC categorized the global workforce into four distinct segments based on skill scarcity and AI proficiency: front-runners (14%), highly mobile employees with scarce skill sets and advanced AI capability; AI insurgents (18%), heavy AI users whose foundational skills are less specialized; indispensables (11%), workers holding scarce expertise who have yet to adopt AI technologies; and the engine room (56%). The last group is a core of most corporate organizations, characterized by lower skill scarcity and minimal AI experience. Within this group, only two in five workers report having access to necessary training.
The report highlights a growing retention crisis surrounding top-tier digital talent. Front-runners are 33% more likely than their peers to have requested a promotion in the past year, with nearly three in ten (29%) indicating they are highly likely to jump ship to a new employer within the next 12 months.
Daily AI usage also appears to strongly influence employee optimism and job stability: 68% of daily AI users report feeling confident about their job security, compared to 57% of infrequent users. Frequent users also exhibit higher levels of trust in corporate leadership and view overall technological advancement far more favorably.
Despite intense public discussion surrounding automation, AI does not represent the primary anxiety for most staff.
The survey indicates economic volatility remains the top threat to job stability, cited by 57% of workers, compared to 44% who fear AI displacement. Broader workplace friction is mounting elsewhere: only a third of respondents retain disposable income at month’s end, 27% report active burnout, and overall trust in executive management dropped by seven percentage points.
Industry analysts emphasize that enterprise leaders must prioritize broader workforce upskilling over mere technology acquisition, cautioning that continuous, practical training for middle-tier employees will prove essential to mitigating organizational disruption.
“If a company expects employees to deliver more with AI, learning how to use it needs to be part of the job, with time and support attached,” said Stephanie Walter, practice leader for AI Stack & Enterprise Application Development at HyperFRAME Research. “Rising AI use alongside declining access to learning and development raises questions about how well employers are supporting the changes they expect workers to make.”
“Using AI is not the same as improving how work gets done,” Walter said. “Employees need to understand where it helps, how to check its output, and how their responsibilities change. Employers still need to invest in the expertise people need to do their jobs well. Giving someone an AI tool does not remove that responsibility.”
