A new report from OpenAI shows that despite widespread adoption of AI in the workplace, the average time savings from using tools like ChatGPT Enterprise only range from 40-60 minutes per day - not enough to deliver the productivity boost many people expect.
However, the actual time savings are not as large as many expect: an average of only 40–60 minutes per day. This shows that AI , while providing assistance, in practice still has many limitations to become a strong “boost” for mass productivity.
However, the report also points out that for the group of “skilled” users – those who know how to fully exploit AI tools and integrate them into their workflow – the benefits can be more obvious. For them, AI helps cut up to more than 10 hours per week, equivalent to about 2 hours/day, when regularly using AI to support repetitive work or requiring high creativity.
Over the past year, the use of AI in the enterprise has also increased dramatically: the number of messages sent via ChatGPT Enterprise has increased nearly 8 times, while the use of “custom GPTs” to automate internal processes has increased 19 times. This clearly shows that many organizations are experimenting with ways to optimize work and automate to better exploit AI capabilities.
However, according to OpenAI, AI alone does not bring about breakthrough productivity - instead, the real value is obtained when businesses simultaneously redesign their workflows and adjust their work structures to suit the new technology. If you just “attach AI to old jobs”, the effectiveness will be very limited.
The data from the report clearly shows that AI , while powerful , is not a “miracle” that automatically increases productivity. The effective exploitation of AI depends largely on how organizations use it and how they transform the way they work. This poses a problem for businesses: how to make AI truly supportive, not just an additional tool.