Deloitte survey reveals one in six UK workers spend their own money on AI tools

A new Deloitte survey, conducted by Ipsos and involving 25,000 UK professionals, reveals that one in six employees in the UK are spending their own money on AI tools for work. The total annual expenditure by employees on these tools is estimated at nearly £1 billion, or approximately ¥90.61 billion at current exchange rates. Over two-thirds of respondents have tried AI tools like ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and Copilot, with nearly a quarter using them daily. Hayley McKelvey, Deloitte’s UK Chief AI Officer, noted that employees are eager to use AI without waiting for approval, often using free versions or paying for premium access. The survey highlights that AI is primarily used for information retrieval, email writing, and content summarization, with users saving an average of 70 minutes per week. Paul Lee, a Deloitte partner, emphasized that while AI is now integrated into daily work, its current role remains basic, focusing on information retrieval and drafting rather than complex tasks. He added that companies that provide AI tools without guidance may miss out on the full benefits of AI adoption.