Case Study

From concerns to confidence: The workforce’s response to Artificial Intelligence

Artificial intelligence (AI) has come to stay. More and more people – whether in their private lives, their work routines, or both areas – are utilizing the opportunities presented by this new technology. You can learn how their perspective on AI applications has changed over the past 12 months in the European AI Barometer 2025.

AI is transforming industries and economies at an unprecedented pace, driving innovation while reshaping the way businesses operate. As AI moves to the forefront of technological advancement, it offers immense opportunities but also presents significant challenges. Organizations and policymakers face critical questions: What are the risks and rewards of AI adoption? How will AI redefine the workplace and what regulatory frameworks are necessary to address its complexities? In this rapidly evolving technological landscape, businesses must rise to the challenge or risk becoming obsolete.

EY European AI Barometer 2025

How people think about the impact of Artificial Intelligence and how they use it.

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The better the question

How can we ensure that Artificial Intelligence becomes a natural part of work?

Capability and capacity building are coming more into focus – even among employees who have not been willing so far.

AI adoption is accelerating at a breathtaking pace. Compared to last year’s edition of the AI Barometer, our survey reveals a notable rise in user numbers and an increasing demand for workforce training and education. A growing share of workers are taking their future in their own hands and actively pursuing AI training – but the continuing education offers of employers usually do not keep pace. In addition, there is greater awareness of the tangible ethical challenges posed by individual AI technologies – from large language models (LLMs) and deep learning (DL) to computer vision and generative AI (GenAI).

On the shop floor, AI is raising the bar for operational excellence. By leveraging AI-supported systems, businesses can reap time savings, lower costs and reduce error rates for enhanced service delivery and product quality. This results not only in higher productivity but also in an improved customer experience. However, alongside these opportunities come significant challenges. Accordingly, public discourse is becoming increasingly nuanced, moving beyond speculative debates about what the future may or may not bring and sharpening the focus on more pressing issues around privacy, data use and potential biases in AI models. With growing public awareness of the importance for smart oversight, governments and organizations are under increasing pressure to develop guidelines and regulations that ensure the responsible use of AI. Upcoming and recent initiatives aim to address the risks without restricting the opportunities to reap the benefits of AI.

It is already clear: Those who do not engage with the topic of AI will fall behind. This applies to individual employees as well as to organizations as a whole.

Adrian Ott

Forensic Partner, Chief Artificial Intelligence Officer | EY Switzerland
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The better the answer

Education and training to expand the scope of AI

The sensible embedding of AI in products, services or workflows to generate added value for employees, customers and society is currently one of the core tasks.

Over the past 12 months, the proportion of respondents who say they use ChatGPT, DeepL and Co. has risen from 72% to 78%, up 6 percentage points, reflecting wide-spread use with almost four in five respondents meanwhile having been involved with or having actively used Artificial Intelligence. Close to half of respondents say they use AI tools in the workplace in the interim, with a further third reporting that they use AI outside of work only. There are no significant differences between genders or between management and non-executive employees. That said, leadership ranks (21%) use AI tools significantly more often in a business context than their employees (11%).

Consistent with the increased uptake, attitudes toward AI are generally more positive than a year ago. In total, 70% of respondents say they have a positive attitude toward the technology. That’s a non-trivial 7 percentage point increase on the previous year (2024: 63%). Moreover, 27% of this year’s respondents qualified their attitude as very positive. An analysis by gender, pay grade, sector and region also reveals some interesting nuances. Fewer women respondents in our survey felt positive about AI compared with men (66% vs. 75%). A comparison by rank reveals an even more pronounced difference with 82% of management reporting a positive attitude, relative to 63% of non-executive employees, a gap of 19 percentage points. As one might expect, younger generations are significantly more positive than their older colleagues, who are more skeptical about the new tech trends both in the workplace and in their private lives. These findings suggest that business leaders need to do more to convince their teams, and in particular older and female employees, of the benefits of AI.

Asked about the biggest challenges and opportunities regarding the use of AI in everyday work and on the labor market, the advantages from the respondents’ perspective are increased efficiency (30%), resource optimization (26%) and improved customer service (24%). To a slightly lesser extent, human augmentation and enhanced decision-making (both 20%) are also rated as fields in which AI offers potential. On the other hand, respondents see challenges in the areas of privacy concerns (30%), ethical issues (27%) and job displacement (25%), followed by regulatory compliance and transparency and accountability (both 21%).

 

To keep abreast of new developments, more than half of respondents (57%) are pursuing education in AI, either professionally (20%), both privately and professionally (16%) or just privately (21%). Conversely, over four in ten respondents (43%) are not furthering their education in AI. Among women, the rate is almost one in two (49%), while the share is significantly lower among men (37%). Likewise, staff members over 50 years of age (42%) are less likely to pursue AI training compared with their younger counterparts among whom the rate is closer to 70%, a considerable portion of whom are doing so privately (33%). Among non-executive employees (52%), the proportion of those not pursuing further education is significantly higher than in management (30%).

 

However, overall, the share of those furthering their education has increased significantly compared with the previous year – by 20 percentage points. Despite the notable increase in engagement with AI training, organizations need to make greater efforts to offer training and include older employees. Going forward, skills in the use and calibration of AI tools will be critical elements of lifelong learning. Without targeted initiatives, society risks leaving a valuable segment of the workforce behind. Part of the challenge lies in organizations formalizing their efforts and communicating them more effectively, as uncertainty remains high, with a notable share of respondents (12%) indicating they simply don’t know enough about available opportunities. Meanwhile, younger employees are taking the initiative to educate themselves privately, highlighting the gap in organizational support and outreach.

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The better the world works

Creating value by taking a holistic approach to AI

Leading organizations are already making quantum leaps in AI-driven operational excellence – are you, too?

The future of AI technology holds immense promise, with advancements unfolding across a wide variety of sectors and with new geographies entering the fray. From breakthroughs in natural language processing to innovations in computer vision and generative AI, the potential applications are unfathomable. However, navigating this rapidly evolving landscape requires foresight and strategic planning. At EY, we believe that there is no one-size-fits-all model when it comes to AI.

Drawing on the rich experience we have gained working shoulder-to-shoulder with our clients across the full spectrum of industries and a huge variety of use cases, we are convinced that it is possible to create immense value by taking a holistic approach to AI and by augmenting people potential to drive extraordinary outcomes. With a human-centered approach to AI, we help hone technology to maximize talent, driving efficiency and productivity gains across business functions. Our teams of world-leading multi-disciplinary professionals spanning risk, strategy, technology and transformation work hand in hand with clients to assist them in an implementation process that is aligned with their purpose, culture, values and key stakeholders so that AI drives positive human impact.

Leading organizations are already making quantum leaps in AI-driven operational excellence, driven by AI literacy initiatives, business process innovation and refined monitoring and management systems. These trailblazers demonstrate how mindful AI integration can transform challenges into opportunities for growth and resilience. Are you also ready to use the incredible possibilities of AI in the right way for exactly your organization or your employer? 

EY European AI Barometer 2025

Find even more facts and insights on the topic of AI – and how employees in Europe in numerous industries think about the new technology – in the current EY report "EY European AI Barometer 2025".

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The team

Adrian Ott

Forensic Partner, Chief Artificial Intelligence Officer | EY Switzerland
AI enthusiast navigating the intersection of technical deep dives, risk management, and strategic innovation. Even more passionate about humans, nature and his family and friends.
Zurich, CHE

Roger Spichiger

Partner, AI Leader in Financial Services | EY Switzerland
Supports financial services clients on their AI journey with deep finance, risk and regulatory transformation expertise. Roger loves the water, mountains and all kinds of sports.
Zurich, CHE
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