“Let’s look at AI’s footprint in Europe’s workplaces. There is an unmistakable trend. In just two years, the share of workers using AI on the job has doubled from 26% of survey respondents in 2024 to 41% in 2025, reaching 52% in 2026. A majority of workers now report using AI for work and, on average, they use it around three days per week.

the median user reports saving three hours per week, or about 7.7% of median working time, although this overall figure contains a highly skewed distribution. Most users enjoy moderate time-savings, while a small number report very high efficiency gains…

The time saved already suggests that AI makes workers more productive. But for the three hours saved – or 7.7% saved working time – context matters, if we are to accurately assess the implications for the total economy productivity growth.

First, only half of workers reported using and saving time thanks to AI (48.8%). Thus, for the whole economy, the overall efficiency gain (in other words, the share of savings in working hours attributed to the use of AI) is closer to 3.8%.

Second, it’s worth noting that these time-savings only translate into higher productivity if workers turn the freed hours into extra output, rather than using them for less directly productive activities. Crucially, the productivity boost also depends on whether the employer is in a position to put that extra capacity to use.”

From European Central Bank.