Artificial intelligence (AI) has officially transitioned from a futuristic novelty to a weekly staple for half of the American adult population, according to new data that suggests the labor market may be restructuring faster than policymakers anticipated.
A comprehensive survey released Thursday by Epoch AI, a leading nonprofit research center, in partnership with Ipsos, reveals that 50% of U.S. adults used AI within the past week. However, the most striking findings lie in the professional sector: 20% of full-time workers report that AI has already automated or “taken over” specific portions of their job responsibilities.
While the automation of tasks is significant, the research highlights a complex augmentation effect. Approximately 15% of full-time workers stated they have begun performing entirely new tasks that would have been impossible without AI assistance, such as no-code data analysis.
Caroline Falkman Olsson, a lead researcher at Epoch AI, noted that while the data confirms AI’s growing footprint, the nature of the work is shifting in ways that require more granular study.
“When we actually look at what people report for their AI usage, we do see augmentation and automation effects,” Olsson told NBC News.
However, experts warn that the rate of replacement currently appears to be outstripping the creation of new roles. Nicholas Miailhe, an AI policy expert at the Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence, described the findings as a “wake-up call.”
“When 1 in 5 workers say AI is already replacing parts of their job, we can start talking about labor market restructuring happening in real time,” Miailhe said, adding that the window for governments to shape this transformation is “closing faster than most realize.”
The survey, which polled 2,000 U.S. adults March 3-5, also uncovered a trend of “bring your own AI” to the office. Roughly half of respondents who use AI for work are doing so via personal subscriptions or free versions, rather than tools provided by their employers.
When employers do provide paid access, engagement skyrockets. Among workers with employer-sponsored subscriptions — most notably for Microsoft Copilot, which leads among paid users — 76% use the technology for professional tasks.
Despite the buzz surrounding AI agents, their adoption remains in its infancy at just 8%. Instead, most Americans use AI for more traditional digital tasks such as web searching (49%), fact-checking and data gathering, and drafting text and brainstorming ideas.
While 6% of respondents were described as “heavy users,” the majority (62.5%) currently use AI for only one or two quick tasks during their most active days. As these tools become more integrated into standard workflows, the divide between simple assistance and total task replacement is expected to narrow further.
