Although artificial intelligence has rapidly become one of the most transformative forces in modern business, enthusiasm for adopting it is far from universal among employees. Many workers remain hesitant or cautious, even as those occupying the upper echelons of corporate leadership appear eager to integrate AI into nearly every dimension of their work. A recently published global study illuminates this growing disparity, revealing a clear and measurable divide in AI usage according to seniority. Specifically, the findings indicate that a striking 87 percent of executives report using AI tools in their professional routines, in contrast to only 57 percent of mid-level managers and a mere 27 percent of non-managerial employees. The report also draws attention to generational differences, noting that executives are approximately 45 percent more likely to incorporate AI into their daily tasks than members of Generation Z — the youngest demographic in today’s workforce and the first generation to have matured in a fully digital environment connected by the internet.
These insights originate from a comprehensive survey of nearly 7,000 professionals, all aged eighteen and older, representing a diverse range of industries and roles across the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, Germany, and New Zealand. Commissioned by the human resources software firm Dayforce, the study was carried out online between July 22 and August 6. The methodological rigor of this approach adds credibility to its results, underscoring the global scope and consistency of the observed AI adoption gap.
According to the report, this uneven pace of adoption has already begun to manifest as tension within many organizations. In some workplaces, leaders and employees are finding themselves at odds over the appropriate role that AI should occupy inside their companies. For instance, at video game developer Electronic Arts, senior executives have reportedly spent much of the past year encouraging their roughly 15,000 employees to employ AI tools broadly — spanning tasks from programming and design to testing and workflow optimization. Yet not everyone within the organization shares this optimism. Several of the company’s employees describe encountering serious flaws in AI-generated code and output riddled with so-called hallucinations, or factual errors produced by AI systems. Creative team members have expressed even deeper concerns, noting expectations that they personally train AI models using their own creative work. Some fear that this process could ultimately diminish the market’s demand for human creativity and artistic expertise, raising existential questions about the long-term security of their professions.
This division in attitudes toward AI extends well beyond the confines of the workplace. The Dayforce study discovered that executives’ enthusiasm for AI transcends their professional responsibilities and carries over into their private lives. Outside of work, fully 85 percent of executives said they regularly utilize AI in their personal routines — significantly higher than the 67 percent of managers and 49 percent of rank-and-file employees who reported doing the same. In practical terms, this means that top leaders are nearly twice as likely as other workers to engage in active experimentation with AI in their day-to-day living, from using it to analyze data or manage schedules to exploring creative applications or decision-support functions. Dayforce analysts interpret this behavioral pattern as evidence that senior leaders are not only shaping company policy around AI but also modeling its integration in their personal and professional decision-making.
Another striking observation from the study involves executives’ reflections on their career choices. Those in top positions were significantly more likely than the broader pool of respondents to express the view that they might have pursued an entirely different professional trajectory had they foreseen the far-reaching impact of AI on their current roles. The authors of the Dayforce report caution that this sentiment serves as a warning signal, suggesting a degree of uncertainty about the direction in which executives’ AI-driven agendas may be steering both their careers and their organizations as a whole.
In its concluding analysis, the study paints a vivid picture of an accelerating technological transformation in which organizational leaders are adopting AI at an unprecedented speed — faster, even, than during previous waves of technological innovation such as mobile computing or cloud transformation. Meanwhile, large portions of the workforce are struggling to adapt, either due to lack of training, unclear guidance, or skepticism about AI’s reliability and fairness. To unlock the full strategic potential of their investment in artificial intelligence, Dayforce emphasizes that executives must not act in isolation. Instead, they should intentionally include their managers and employees in the journey, fostering collaboration through structured training programs, transparent communication, and well-defined use cases that align AI’s capabilities with genuine business and human needs. Only by bridging this widening adoption divide, the report suggests, can organizations ensure that AI becomes a unifying force for productivity and innovation rather than a source of division and discontent within the modern workplace.
Sourse: https://www.businessinsider.com/executives-adopting-ai-higher-rates-than-workers-research-2025-10
