As AI's novelty wears off, workers want it to be better
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Illustration: Lindsey Bailey/Axios
Almost all young knowledge workers are using AI at work. Now what?
- A survey out Thursday finds that knowledge workers under 40 want AI to be less generic, with styles tailored to how they actually write and speak.
Why it matters: The youngest workers are typically on the bleeding edge — first to adopt new technology and a leading indicator of where it's headed next.
Catch up quick: Last year, the same survey conducted by Google Workspace, along with Harris Poll, found that 93% of full-time Gen Z workers and 79% of millennials were using two or more AI tools per week.
Where it stands: But life comes at you fast. AI adoption moves at breakneck speed. The novelty's worn off.
By the numbers: 92% of young leaders say they want AI with personalization — tailored to their writing style or that of their organization.
- They also want easy integration with relevant personal information that can help them pull work together, like from emails, planning docs and meeting notes.
- 90% said they would be more inclined or much more inclined to use AI at work if it was more personalized.
"People's bars are higher now in terms of their expectations," Yulie Kwon Kim, vice president of product at Google Workspace, told Axios this week.
- Last year, if AI could generate an email or doc for you, it was fun. "But now if you really want to use it in your work, that's not enough."
How they did it: In September, Google fielded its second "Young Leaders" survey of 1,007 U.S.-based knowledge workers, age 22-39, who currently have or aspire to hold a leadership position at work.
Zoom out: Most respondents appear to be power users. 77% said they considered themselves someone who "actively designs or engineers parts" of their workflow with AI.
- And 93% agreed that AI has made them more confident in their skills as a professional.
Between the lines: It makes sense that workers would prefer their AI to be more personalized. People don't want the things they write to sound generic, or like a bot wrote it.
- Younger folks, for whom AI is more native, are on the lookout for content that feels phony, Kim says.
- "It's still very important that things feel authentic."
Reality check: Personalization sounds simple, but it's technically messy.
- True style-matching requires long-term memory and access to sensitive work data, things most enterprise AI systems aren't ready to handle at scale.
What to watch: Most AI in the market isn't that good at this yet. That's an opportunity for AI companies.
- For certain writers earning a living from their personal writing style — ahem — it's a measure of relief.
