GoTo Pulse Survey Shows AI Promise, Highlights Gaps to Fill

A recent survey of 2,500 global employees and IT leaders on AI use and sentiment, shows many employees and IT professionals see AI as a game-changer when it comes to remote and hybrid work. However, the data shows gaps between perception and reality, as IT leaders show more confidence in the current deployment of AI than employees.

We spoke with GoTo’s VP of Partner Sales, Mike Day, to learn more about how the results show an opportunity for MSPs to guide their clients through workplace changes.

Survey data shows clear demand for AI from employees, but outcomes don’t match expectations

Respondents to the survey overwhelmingly reported they supported their company’s investments in AI tools and wanted to leverage AI to be more efficient in their workflows. While that strong demand might make it seem like AI adoption is an easy win for leadership, the results also show current deployments are not going according to plan.

91% of IT leaders say their company effectively uses AI to support remote and hybrid workers. However, just 53% of these remote and hybrid employees say AI is being used effectively to support them.

Day points to the fact that many businesses have in some ways jumped to adopt AI without considering what employees would benefit from the most, and as employees were introduced to AI without proper training or use cases in place, many were underwhelmed.

“It’s the same phase we’re in right now as consumers, of ‘hey we need AI in the business, who’s going to be in charge of it- IT’ and then IT leaders go out and find AI,” Day said. “You have this convergence of people saying, ‘well, my company wants me to use this, I don’t know about it,’ and that was really the first phase where a lot of employees were thinking AI was a little overhyped.”

Why makeup of workforce and tech usage patterns are more important to IT than ever before

Much of the survey focused on how AI usage impacts workers of different generations and how the tools affected those working hybrid or fully remote.

• The vast majority of remote/hybrid Gen Z (90%) and Millennial employees (84%) say AI has improved their productivity while working remotely.
• Gen X workers (71%) and Baby Boomers (74%) cite this benefit too, showing that while age isn’t a barrier to entry, there is still a gap in who is more likely to report improved productivity.

Day says the survey utilized Federal Reserve datasets to determine the average daily wage of a knowledge work and then did the math on how much money could be saved when AI saved an hour or two hours a day of work. As the AI-enabled solutions continue to evolve, the data suggests more employees are seeing the productivity gains vendors promise.

• 66% of employees say AI enables them to work anywhere without losing productivity, but that hasn’t translated into full confidence or adoption.
• 61% of employees say investing in AI would improve productivity more than adding in-office perks even among those who work onsite.

“Especially in a world where hybrid and remote work will be permanent for many, more and more people are saying my work-life balance is going to get better,” Day said. “Like so many other things, we’ve got to first accept how you can use it to start really embracing it.”

“I really hope if we draw out nothing more from this, it’s the thought concept of embracing the tools to increase our efficiencies and our time so that we can find joy in what we’re doing as employees… because I’ve embraced my tools that make me more effective,” he continued.

How MSPs are poised to guide organizations of all sizes through AI adoption journeys

To Day, these lingering questions about efficiencies and productivity give partners an opportunity to support their clients as they pursue AI solutions moving forward.

“IT leaders are starting to really think about the security issues, and also how to build trust within their employees around these tools,” Day said. “You may be in a highly-regulated or specific vertical, and are these tools tailored to what I’m doing… AI sounds so expensive, how am I going to train people. Starting with the end in mind is important to get to the outcome you want.”

To Day, partners supporting SMBs with or without internal IT teams need to remember the human aspects of this journey; finding ways to enable employees to learn the AI tools effectively and focus on how the tools can allow employees to do less routine tasks and more impactful work will be crucial to successful AI adoption.

“We need to look at how we close the gap between IT leaders, who have the vision for these tools, and employees who are actually using the tools,” Day added.

“Let’s first understand who makes up our workforce, and the tool to match the user. Consider if you have a more technical workforce, whether roles are customer-facing, and when you bring in a tool, whether you expect your workforce to use it, or whether it’s more for your customers but some of your teams need to understand how it works,” Day said.

From there, channel partners can help their clients locate enablement and training resources, address the potential security concerns and whether employees are using non-approved AI tools, and consider the long-term ROI and efficiency of their deployments.

“AI is rapidly evolving from a helpful tool to a foundational force shaping the future of work,” said Rich Veldran, CEO of GoTo. “As these technologies mature, they’re breaking down barriers to more flexible ways of working while enhancing in-person collaboration where it’s most impactful. The companies that embrace AI not just as a tool, but as a core part of their employee experience, will be the ones that redefine what it means to be productive, connected, and collaborative wherever work happens.”

Day emphasizes that employees seem more open than ever to using AI tools, and that places the burden for success at least partially on IT and executive leadership to plan and deliver AI adoption plans that work for their organizations.

“Employees want AI, they are stating that they want AI investments prioritized,” Day said. “The desire from employees is something we keenly have to look at as business owners and creators of tech.”