7 takeaways from our survey on generative AI professional usage

Here at Contentful, we strive to ensure our customers are in the best possible position to build content which engages with the audiences they care about. 

Given the rapid rise of generative AI –– and the demonstrable enthusiasm among those who are most knowledgeable about it –– businesses have much to gain by making sure all of their employees have access to these tools and the guidance they need to work with them appropriately.

That’s why Contentful surveyed 820 people across multiple industries, company sizes, and countries in various technical and non-technical roles to understand the opportunities and challenges presented by generative AI in the workplace. The results indicate that business leaders must take action, but that individual professionals also have agency.

“GenAI is here to stay. It has the power to radically transform how we work together across teams and departments,” said Karthik Rau, CEO of Contentful. “By fostering a culture of knowledge and responsible usage, organizations can empower their workforce to harness the full capabilities of GenAI while unlocking the creativity of their teams.”

The full results, together with analysis, recommendations and accounting of methodology, can be found in the Contentful Generative AI Professional Usage and Perception Survey. Here are seven things you’ll learn from reading the report.

1. Company-paid access to GenAI tools

More than three-quarters of respondents have company-paid access to generative AI tools at work. Surprisingly, nearly a quarter of all respondents find these tools so valuable in a work context that they seem happy to use their own money to access them, either entirely or on top of what their employers fund. 

Eighteen percent of respondents said they do not expense the generative AI tools they buy. We’d struggle to identify a comparable technology development that individuals have been so eager to access that they’ve been willing to fund professional usage themselves.

2. Saving time with GenAI tools

Of all daily generative AI users overall, 20% use the tech for professional purposes and 15% for personal use. Thirty-eight percent of respondents say they save from one to almost five hours a week using generative AI tools; 37% save between five and 10 hours per week; and 11% save more than 10 hours per week.

3. Employees would like clear guidance and policies

The ways in which generative AI is already changing how many people work point to a potentially fast-growing divide between the businesses that empower their employees to use these tools and those that do not. 

The majority of respondents expressed a desire for more guidance on responsible generative AI usage, indicating a need for company training and support. Although 36% say they have been given a sufficient amount of guidance from their organization on how to use generative AI responsibly, 51% of respondents would like more.

For the 11% of respondents who were not using generative AI either professionally or personally, most cited the lack of opportunity and access to these tools. Several respondents indicated they were waiting for their companies to develop guidelines or policies on how to use generative AI.

4. Applying large language models to proprietary content

More than two-thirds of organizations are considering plans either to apply an existing large language model (LLM) to their own proprietary content or to train their own LLM. Only 31% of our survey respondents said they were unaware of any such plans in their organizations. Some (18%) already have plans and a small but forward-thinking 6% have projects underway.  

These results validate the view that the significant near-term value of generative AI for most organizations is in a tailored approach. GenAI tools that reference vetted, validated, and approved inputs are more likely to produce useful outputs, whatever the objective or context.

5. Using an existing LLM versus training your own

Of those organizations that already have or are considering plans for tailored LLMs, 49% are utilizing an existing LLM, and 42% are training their own. One of the most pointed questions these data raise is which approach to building a tailored LLM will be the fastest and most effective. Training a proprietary LLM using, say, open-source tools can deliver substantial value, but it is not for the faint of heart.

6. Enthusiasm for generative AI is high

Across the entire survey population, our respondents are enthusiastic about generative AI — and perceive the enthusiasm of their management and leadership to be on par with their own. 

However, there’s a significant gap in excitement for AI between individuals who consider themselves highly knowledgeable about generative AI (in particular, those who rated themselves a “5” on a one-to-five scale) and everyone else.

7. More knowledge leads to more productivity

Similarly, respondents with higher levels of generative AI knowledge are more likely to save a greater amount of time per week using these tools, with 21% of the most knowledgeable saving more than 10 hours per week. By contrast, those who have the least knowledge save the least time.

Given the rapid rise of GenAI and the demonstrable enthusiasm among those who are most knowledgeable about it, businesses have much to gain by making sure all of their employees have access to these tools and the guidance they need to work with them appropriately.

Wrapping up

We asked 820 professionals across different industries for their perspectives on the benefits and the challenges that generative AI brings to their workday. The full report is a culmination of those findings with commentary by University of Toronto Professor of Marketing and Psychology Sam Maglio, plus actionable recommendations for effectively implementing the new technology at your company.

What’s clear is that generative AI offers several benefits for users like speed, efficiency, and enhanced capabilities. Respondents were aware of this with the majority showing enthusiasm for the tool. But generative AI can also put authenticity into question and a heavy human hand is needed to produce positive outputs.

Change is here and it’s happening fast. Digital teams are finding creative ways to leverage AI, and two-thirds are considering or already have plans to create custom tools. Read the full report for the complete picture: Download the Contentful Generative AI Professional Usage and Perception Survey.

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