About half of UK workers who have used generative AI for work report no time savings, according to a survey of 25,000 workers by Deloitte. Ipsos UK conducted the online poll from May 7 to June 10, 2026.
Across the full sample, 63% had used the technology for work, 34% had not, and 3% were unsure. Only 18% of all respondents reported saving more than two hours a week.
Across the UK workforce, the average claimed saving was 70 minutes a week. Deloitte cautions that most respondents cannot recall the time saved precisely. Scaled across the country, the firm puts those claimed gains at the equivalent of a million full-time employees.
Seven percent of respondents reach the survey's top band of five or more hours a week; in information and communications that rises to 21%, in healthcare and social work it falls to 5%.
Users most often ask it to find information or draft emails — 43% each — and 31% use it to write summaries. Seventeen percent of users paid out of pocket for an AI tool they used at work.
Deloitte notes that the time gained often comes in scattered short intervals, making it difficult to set aside for a substantial task. Among workers who reported saving time, about half spent it on additional work of the same kind. Some of the benefit also went to employees: 27% used at least part of the time for personal tasks.