Freshworks report highlights strong AI adoption in APAC workplaces
Freshworks released its new Global AI Workplace Report today, presenting insights into how various workplace departments are integrating artificial intelligence (AI). The surveyed population consisted of over 7,000 full-time employees, with data collected from March 9 to April 4, 2024. The results indicate a notable adoption of AI tools, with more than half (55%) of the workers surveyed currently using software applications enhanced with AI at their workplaces.
The Asia-Pacific (APAC) region shows a particularly rapid uptake of AI technology. The report reveals that a significant majority of APAC workers (70%) are using AI at least once a week. More than half (59%) of these employees state that AI contributes to saving at least three hours of work per week. Sandie Overtveld, Senior Vice President, Asia-Pacific and Japan, Middle East and Africa at Freshworks, remarked, "For half a decade, Freshworks has been empowering customers to enhance their business efficiency through AI. We witness the remarkable growth of a technology that holds immense potential for delivering business value."
Employees are experiencing various benefits from AI usage. Nearly three-quarters (73%) of APAC workers believe that AI helps them to get more work done, improve the quality of their work, or make their tasks easier to complete. The predominant uses of AI among workers in this region include writing or creating content (48%), conducting research and brainstorming (47%), and performing data analysis (45%). There is also a high degree of satisfaction, with 71% of respondents feeling comfortable using AI and trusting its outputs.
Despite these advantages, there are concerns about privacy and security. Over half (51%) of APAC employees acknowledge using free versions of online AI tools such as ChatGPT. Only one in three (33%) workers express concern over the sources from which AI extracts information. This practice raises significant concerns as it implies that sensitive company data could be utilised to train future versions of AI models owned by other companies. Reflecting on these concerns, Overtveld stated, "As AI becomes increasingly prevalent, we emphasize the need for companies to provide adequate training and onboarding for employees, so they can immerse themselves in the software and harness the full benefits of AI safely and effectively."
The need for enhanced training is further underscored by the fact that APAC workers are still wary of AI due to its perceived security risks (53%) and its unpredictability (43%). Additionally, 37% of employees admit that AI can be confusing to understand, while a significant majority (73%) agree that proper training and onboarding are essential for maximising AI's benefits in the workplace.
Encouragingly, the survey findings suggest that negative perceptions of AI replacing jobs are declining in the Asia-Pacific region. About 76% of workers agree that AI will never fully replace human roles, particularly when it comes to younger, less experienced talent. Furthermore, two-thirds (69%) of workers indicated they would trust AI more if there were mandatory human reviews of its outputs. This sentiment highlights a call for stronger company policies surrounding AI implementation to maintain a balance between technological advancement and human oversight.
The methodology of this research involved an online survey conducted by Method Research and distributed by PureSpectrum. The survey included respondents aged 18 and above who are full-time salaried employees working in desk job positions. The total sample size was 7,000, with 1,000 respondents each from the United States and United Kingdom, and 500 from various countries including the Netherlands, Germany, France, Singapore, Australia/New Zealand, India, United Arab Emirates, Mexico, Colombia, and Brazil. The collected data was balanced by gender, age, and company size to ensure representativeness.
