At Microsoft, we're conducting deep research into AI adoption in the workplace: what works for people, what the new challenges are, and how organizations can move from early experimentation to widespread business transformation. Today we’re releasing new data from Copilot customers that shows which jobs are reaping early AI benefits. To do this, we looked at one of the first ways people report value from AI: time savings. Let's take a closer look.
What we did: As part of an ongoing survey about Copilot usage in the workplace, we asked 1,300 new Copilot users how much time they were saving each day. They could choose from six answers: “I didn’t notice any time savings,” “Less than 5 minutes a day,” “5-10 minutes,” “11-30 minutes,” “31-60 minutes,” and “More than an hour.” We then broke down the data by job role to see how much time people in different roles reported saving.
What we found: People in cybersecurity, product development, and sales/business development reported saving the most time each day, while people in procurement, legal, and supply chain reported saving the least time. (It takes 11 minutes of time savings each day for most people to find AI useful, which is key to making AI habits stick.)
AI saves time across functions
In most business sectors, the time savings are significant enough to reinforce the value of AI.
![](https://assets-c4akfrf5b4d3f4b7.z01.azurefd.net/assets/2024/06/AIdatadrop-value-of-copilot-asset_6675ed1e9a69a.jpg)
*This chart shows how much time people in different jobs feel they save using AI. Survey responses across the six time-saving categories were converted to numbers to find the average perception of time saved. The bars were sorted by these averages.
Source: Using Microsoft Copilot in Workplace Surveys.
meaning: Our researchers hypothesize that two key factors may influence which jobs generate the most value from AI.
One. The kind of work they do.
Initially, the value and use cases of AI became clearer and simpler in specific functions. For example, sales reps can use Copilot to quickly prioritize leads and draft support emails, saving them time so they can focus on building relationships with customers. Conversely, lawyers work in systems where confidentiality, privacy, and attorney-client privilege are essential, and these stringent requirements may make adapting their work to AI more difficult.
2. The reality of the industry.
Different sectors have different overall capacities for rapid change. In cybersecurity, people must embrace new technologies to combat constantly emerging threats. On the other hand, those in supply chain roles may be slower to adopt new technologies because they must integrate multiple suppliers and legacy technologies into their operations.
Of course, this will vary by individual, team, and organization. According to the 2024 Workplace Trends Index Annual Report, there is no doubt that employees are broadly embracing AI in the workplace. 75% of knowledge workers worldwide are currently using AI. But to translate this widespread enthusiasm into business innovation, it is important to understand how people across a variety of roles are using AI. Generally Help guide your AI rollout across your company. For the latest data and guidance on how AI is transforming the work of employees and leaders around the world, check out the Work Trends Index.
Methodology: This is a workplace Copilot usage survey, running September 2023. The survey is conducted primarily among Microsoft employees and early adopters of Copilot from other companies in North America and Europe. All users included in the analysis have been using Copilot for at least 3 weeks.
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