About a Third of Workers Who Used AI in the Last Week Said They Completed Tasks One to Two Hours Faster

Note: The figures in this story were revised September 24 based on updated weights in the Public-Use File. More information is available in the March 2026 User Note. While the revision to the weighting did result in some changes to the estimates, it did not change any of the conclusions made from statistical testing.

About 56% of U.S. workers said they have used Artificial Intelligence (AI) on the job for at least one of 11 tasks asked about on the U.S. Census Bureau’s March 2026 Household Trends and Outlook Pulse Survey (HTOPS).

The tasks covered a range of everyday work activities, such as searching for technical help, writing, generating ideas, and coding.

Those who reported using AI at work in the last week were asked how many additional hours they would’ve needed to finish their work without AI. A quarter said AI saved them less than an hour and 31% said AI saved them one to two hours.

The survey describes AI as** **the capability of computational systems to perform tasks typically associated with human intelligence, such as learning, reasoning, problem-solving, perception and decision-making.

The survey question provided examples of AI as machine learning, natural language processing, virtual agents, and voice recognition.****

Among workers who used AI at work, about a third said it cut one or two hours from their tasks.

The HTOPS, a bi-monthly survey that provides timely insight on social and economic impacts on U.S. households, asked workers about their AI use for 11 job tasks. The top five ways people said they’ve used AI at work:

• 37% said to search for information or technical help.
• 32% to write communications, documentation or instructions.
• 32% to generate ideas.
• 31% to interpret, translate or summarize information.
• 27% to do administrative tasks.

Fewer U.S. workers reported using AI for other tasks like coding or modeling, customer support and managing logistics or supply chains.

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