Although enterprise software developers continue to promise enhanced performance rates with their AI technology, job seekers remain doubtful of its value in the workplace. Resume-building platform Resume Genius examined the 2024 job market and surveyed 1,000 U.S. job seekers. Among respondents, 69 percent said they were unconvinced of AI’s capability to enhance their work performance, while 62 percent doubted AI’s ability to reduce their workload.
The survey addressed additional topics relevant to the recent buzz about workplace AI, including possibly the most hot-button question: is AI technology a threat to people’s jobs? Just 34 percent of respondents are concerned about AI replacing them in the workplace, and 30 percent expect AI to increase competition for jobs in their fields.
Although the survey produced mixed responses regarding AI’s effect on the business world, with results segmented by generation and gender, the results predominantly indicated workers’ doubts about the ability of artificial intelligence to enhance the work experience. These findings align with the general consensus about AI’s disappointing effects as a workplace tool and coincide with growing concerns about AI progression reaching a plateau.
Who Really Benefits From Enterprise AI
The conversation surrounding AI’s unimpressive output as an enterprise asset is nothing new. However, when over two-thirds of job seekers are skeptical about AI’s ability to boost workplace performance, it suggests a significant disconnect between AI vendors’ marketing promises and their actual offerings.
On the outside, corporate enthusiasm for AI technology has remained widespread, with companies embedding generative AI into customer-facing tools and enterprise processes. According to data published by Menlo Ventures exploring the rising popularity of enterprise AI, business spending in the generative AI realm increased to $13.8B in 2024—a 500 percent increase from $2.3B last year.
Of course, the corporate hype surrounding AI may not reflect the actual productivity value of AI technology. AI data services company Appen’s 2024 State of AI Report found that the mean percent of deployed enterprise AI projects showing a significant return on investment decreased from 56.7 percent in 2021 to 47.3 percent in 2024.
While AI companies’ sales teams continue to advertise new software solutions to enterprises, we will have to wait and see whether corporate enthusiasm will dwindle if returns on AI investments continue to wane.