New data from the non-profit Angus Reid Institute finds roughly half of American workers who've used AI on the job report a productivity boost, while a separate but related finding shows one-in-four employed Americans are worried, to some degree, about AI replacing their job altogether. Among employed Americans who have used AI at work, 49 per cent say it has improved their productivity, while 40 per cent report no real impact. Yet that day-to-day optimism sits alongside real unease about the future: 27 per cent of employed Americans say they are worried or very worried about AI eventually replacing their job, even as a similar share (27%) say they see the technology purely as a tool to enhance their work, with no such worry at all.
Who's using which AI
Workplace AI policy
Productivity & the age divide
The road ahead
Job replacement worry
Methodology
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Who's using which AI, and how often?
AI tools have become a fixture of American working life
Just 20 per cent of Americans say they haven't actively used an AI platform in the past three months, whether for work or personal use. Google's Gemini and OpenAI's ChatGPT lead the way, used by roughly half of Americans (52% and 49% respectively), ahead of Meta AI (35%), Microsoft Copilot (20%), and Claude (10%).
Angus Reid USA, online survey, June 12–19, 2026, n=2,007 American adults.
Among employed Americans specifically, usage is even higher: 58 per cent have used ChatGPT and 57 per cent have used Gemini in the past three months, and platform adoption climbs further among union members and those in blue-collar or service roles, who report using ChatGPT (71%) and Claude (25%) at notably higher rates than the workforce overall.
Roughly 47 per cent of employed Americans have used AI specifically at work, and usage is frequent where it happens: nearly a quarter (24%) of those who've used AI for work report doing so several times a day. For the most part, AI use on the job is voluntary — 71 per cent say they use it because they want to, while 29 per cent say it's because their employer told them to.
Workplace AI policy
Three-in-ten have a workplace AI policy in place, similar number in development
Formal governance of AI in the American workplace is still very much a work in progress. Among workers who have used AI on the job, just 31 per cent say their employer has an official AI policy in place. Another 32 per cent say one is under development, while 37 per cent say no policy exists at all.
Q8 · among those who use AI at work · n=756.
Union members are somewhat more likely than the workforce overall to report a formal policy in place (39%), suggesting collective bargaining structures may be getting ahead of the broader market in setting AI ground rules.
Impact on productivity, quality, and sense of satisfaction
Half see a productivity boost — and the clearest pattern in who notices is age, not job type
Among workers who've used AI on the job, assessments of its effect remain measured rather than enthusiastic. 49 per cent report improved productivity, while 40 per cent say it's made no real difference. On quality of output specifically, the split narrows: 41 per cent report improvement against 46 per cent reporting no change. On personal satisfaction with their work, results are the most muted of the three: just 40 per cent report improvement, while 45 per cent see no real impact.
Looking at who reports these gains, a clear pattern emerges by age rather than by occupation type. On all three measures — productivity, satisfaction, and quality of work — workers aged 18–34 and those 55 and older report meaningfully stronger gains than workers in the 35–54 range. On productivity, 56 per cent of the youngest group and 57 per cent of the oldest report improvement, compared to just 41 per cent of those in between.
Q9 · among those who use AI at work · n=756.
It's worth noting this finding sits in a more complicated picture than first appears. National tracking polls on AI in the workplace, including Pew Research Center's ongoing surveys, have generally found that younger and more-educated workers are the heaviest current users of AI on the job — but heavier use is a different question than reported impact, and Angus Reid USA is not aware of a directly comparable national poll that breaks down self-reported productivity gains by age the way this survey does. The pattern here should be read as a genuine finding from this wave of data, worth watching in future waves, rather than a settled fact about the American workforce.
The road ahead
Few see a strongly positive future impact, with older workers the most optimistic
Looking ahead, American workers are not bullish on AI's net effect on their industry. Just 21 per cent of employed Americans expect a significant positive impact, while 16 per cent expect a significant negative one. The largest group, 47 per cent, expect a mixed bag of gains and losses, and another 16 per cent expect little impact at all.
Q10 · among employed Americans · n=1,101.
The same U-shaped age pattern shows up here, though more mildly. Workers 55 and older are the most optimistic age group about AI's future impact on their industry, with 25 per cent expecting a significant positive effect, compared to 18 per cent of those aged 35–54. Workers under 35 land close to the oldest group on optimism (23%) but are also the least likely to expect a significant negative impact (13%, versus 19% among both older groups).
Job security
More see AI as an enhancement than a serious risk of job replacement, for now
Despite the ongoing national conversation about AI and job displacement, American workers are not, for the moment, alarmed about their own jobs specifically. Just 11 per cent say they are very worried about AI replacing their job, while a further 16 per cent are worried. The largest single group, 38 per cent, say they aren't very worried, while 27 per cent see AI purely as a tool to enhance their work rather than a threat to it.
Q11 · among employed Americans · n=1,101.
That comparative calm sits against a backdrop of real disruption already playing out in the American labor market. Goldman Sachs estimates AI is eliminating roughly 16,000 U.S. jobs per month on net, and a wave of layoffs at companies like Meta has been explicitly tied to AI adoption. But the picture is more complicated than straightforward replacement: a growing body of research is tracking what's being called the “AI boomerang” effect, in which companies that cut roles for AI later quietly rehire for the same positions. A Robert Half survey of U.S. hiring managers found nearly a third had eliminated a role due to AI productivity gains only to later rehire for that same position, and Forrester Research has found that 55 per cent of employers regret AI-related layoffs. Major employers including IBM, Salesforce, Google, and Meta have all added staff back in redefined roles to support their AI systems, and Gartner projects that half of companies that cut AI-related jobs will be restaffing similar roles within the year.
About this survey
Methodology and downloads
Angus Reid USA conducted an online survey from June 12 – 19, 2026, among a representative randomized sample of 2,007 American adults who are members of Angus Reid Forum USA, including 1,101 who are currently employed. For comparison purposes only, a probability sample of this size would carry a margin of error of +/- 2.0 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, with a wider margin for subsamples such as employed Americans (+/- 3.0 percentage points) or those who use AI at work (+/- 3.6 percentage points). Discrepancies in or between totals are due to rounding. The survey was self-commissioned and paid for by Angus Reid USA. Detailed tables are found at the end of this release.
For detailed results by age, gender, region, education, and other demographics, click here.
