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Belgian workers seemingly unprepared to harness the full potential of AI
Artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming the workplace by automating routine tasks, improving decision making and enhancing the employee experience. But how well are AI tools being adopted by the Belgian workforce?
For the second consecutive year, PwC Belgium conducted an online survey among 1,000 Belgians who use a computer at least an hour a day at work. The survey examined the usage and attitudes toward AI technology among Belgian white-collar workers. Compared to last year (13%), 34% of employees report that they regularly or always use AI at work. But 40% of workers don’t interact with AI tools at all. Regular usage is more prevalent among men than women (42% vs. 24%) and younger people are more likely to regularly use AI tools compared to older generations. Daily use of generic AI tools is highest among those under 34 (25%), and significantly lower for those aged 35-54 and over 55 (both 9%).
Lack of access to AI tools
It’s not unusual that so few people have experience with AI for their job. 26% of Belgians indicate that AI simply isn’t used at work. Another 35% indicate that AI is mainly used on individual initiative, but without any training or frameworks around its use. For 22%, there’s more experimentation with AI at work, but there are no guidelines or rules yet. Only 11% say they have clear rules around AI at work and another six percent can also count on training and sharing examples. It’s striking that the same trends around gender and age also play a role here: Women are more likely than men to indicate that there’s no AI culture at work, just as older people are more likely than young people to indicate this.
“Although AI is becoming more prevalent in workplaces, a significant portion of our workforce has yet to embrace these technologies. Implementing AI tools and fostering an AI-driven culture are essential steps to harness the full potential of AI. Meanwhile, as the technology evolves rapidly, the disparity between proficient AI users and non-users continues to widen.”
AI agents: An underutilised resource
While workers are only beginning to explore the possibilities of AI, new technologies are emerging at a rapid pace. Such as AI agents. They offer an intelligent system capable of understanding and responding to inquiries without human intervention. The use of AI agents can potentially enhance employee efficiency, improve customer satisfaction and reduce the risk of errors.
Despite their high potential, it seems that companies aren’t yet fully exploring or implementing AI agents. Our data shows that 67% of Belgians indicate they’ve never heard of AI agents, 12% have some awareness but lack understanding of how they work, 11% are knowledgeable yet inexperienced and only 10% have had some practical experience with AI agents, albeit in a limited capacity. Regarding the perceived value of AI agents, workers’ opinions are divided. Only 25% of respondents are convinced of their added value for themselves, while 42% remain unconvinced about the benefits AI agents could bring to their organisation.
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Can you trust AI?
Lacking experience with these newly emerging technologies, 65% of workers don’t feel comfortable relying on AI, including AI agents, to make decisions in their work. However, 23% of employees do and 26% would trust the decisions of AI agents as much as their own and don’t see the need to conduct extensive checks. While most workers (60%) would use and trust AI agents, they’d still prefer to make important decisions themselves.
Various tasks and work processes within a company can benefit from AI agents. The most frequently indicated is IT (37%), followed by financial reporting (24%), project management (22%) and supply chain management (21%). Customer service is also among the top answers (23%). Additionally, departments such as Sales and Marketing (18%), Legal (16%), and Human Capital (13%) are selected by fewer than one in five respondents. Almost one in three (30%) indicate that they’re unsure.
Freeing up time to...?
If AI agents were to help relieve workload, how would Belgians prefer to use their additional time? According to the survey, there’s an equal preference between 'focusing on more challenging tasks' (34%) and 'improving current skills or learning new ones' (34%). Contrary to some expectations, 'reducing working hours for more leisure time' is only the third most popular choice (28%). Additionally, 24% of respondents indicated a preference for 'applying more flexibility to the work schedule.' Less popular options include 'taking on more responsibilities at work' (15%) and 'engaging in more volunteer work.' Notably, 21% of respondents are uncertain about how they would use the freed-up time.
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Partner Technology Consulting & Innovation, PwC Belgium
Tel: +32 495 59 08 40
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