High adoption, uneven foundations
Monday.com’s AI at Work 2026 study surveyed 1,701 directors and senior managers in seven countries. Its public findings say 72% work at companies that mandate or strongly encourage AI use, but only 29% report fully optimized, centralized AI infrastructure. The contrast concerns reported organizational readiness, not a measured change in output.
Excitement can coexist with extra effort
Although 94% say finding opportunities to optimize with AI is exciting, 59% say identifying and testing where it adds value takes more effort than it saves. The report also says 82% are satisfied using AI in their jobs, while 29% say it has increased their working hours. Positive attitudes therefore should not be treated as evidence that everyone is saving time.
What organizations can investigate
The findings suggest checking implementation work alongside individual tool use: who evaluates experiments, how tools fit together and where extra hours arise. These are questions prompted by the survey, not interventions shown by this study to improve productivity.
Limits of the evidence
The findings reflect respondents’ accounts in a vendor-sponsored survey. They do not establish causation, describe every employee’s experience or prove an economy-wide productivity gain or loss.