Survey: 37% of Professionals Save 5-10 Hours a Week Using Generative AI Tools

Contentful has released the findings from its inaugural Generative AI Professional Usage and Perception Survey, shedding light on the perceptions, attitudes and usage of generative AI among professionals globally.

Contentful surveyed 820 people across multiple industries, company sizes and countries in various technical and non-technical roles to understand the opportunities and challenges presented by genAI in the workplace. More than three-quarters of respondents have company-paid access to genAI tools at work.

READ: Unveiling the Power and Pitfalls of Generative AI in The Modern Workplace

Nearly a quarter of all respondents find these tools so valuable in a work context that they seem happy to use their own money to access them, either entirely or on top of what their employers fund. Eighteen percent of respondents said they do not expense the genAI tools they buy.

Of all daily genAI users overall, 20% use the tech for professional purposes and 15% for personal use. 38% of respondents say they save from one to almost five hours a week using genAI tools; 37% save between five and 10 hours per week; and 11% save more than 10 hours per week.

For the 11% of respondents who were not using genAI either professionally or personally, most cited the lack of opportunity and access to these tools. Several respondents indicated they were waiting for their companies to develop guidelines or policies on how to use genAI.

More than two-thirds of organizations are considering plans either to apply an existing Large Language Model (LLM) to their own proprietary content or to train their own LLM. Only 31% of survey respondents said they were unaware of any such plans in their organizations. Some (18%) already have plans and a small but forward-thinking 6% have projects underway. Of those organizations that already have or are considering plans for tailored LLMs, 49% are utilizing an existing LLM, and 42% are training their own.

Among the notable findings:

There is a significant gap in excitement for AI between individuals who consider themselves highly knowledgeable about genAI (in particular, those who rated themselves a “5” on a one-to-five scale) and everyone else.

Professionals with high genAI knowledge levels are more actively engaged in using genAI tools, already identifying its productive impact.

The majority of respondents expressed a desire for more guidance on responsible genAI usage, indicating a need for company training and support. Although 36% say they have been given a sufficient amount of guidance from their organization on how to use genAI responsibly, 51% of respondents would like more.