2025GenerativeAIin

ProfessionalServicesReport.

Readyforthenextstepofstrategicapplications

ThomsonReutersInstitute

2025GenerativeAIinProfessionalServicesReport2

Executivesummary

It’sbeenmorethantwoyearssincethepublicintroductionofChatGPT,andgenerativeartificial

intelligence(GenAI)isasecretnolonger.MicrosofthasintegratedCopilotintoallfacetsofitsOffice365suite,GoogleprovidesGeminiresultsatthetopofmostsearches,andtechnologygiantsfromAmazontoMetaareexploringwhereGenAIfitsintotheirsuiteofsolutions.

Withallofthischange,therestofthebusinessworld—andtheprofessionalservicesmarket—is

followingclosebehind.Abouthalfofallprofessionalsinthelegal;tax,accounting&audit;corporate

risk&fraud;andgovernmentindustriesuseGenAIinsomefashion,accordingtothesurveyresultsthatunderpinthislatestiterationofourannualGenerativeAIinProfessionalServicesReport.1Indeed,manyofthoseprofessionalssaidtheyareusingChatGPTorotherfreetoolsforlimitedtasks,butincreasingly,theyalsoareusingpaidtools(suchasCopilot)forbusinesspurposes,orindustry-specificGenAI

technologiesthatfeaturecontentandusecasescateredtoprofessionals’specificsectors.

Moreandmore,thesespecializedGenAItoolsarebeing

bakedintoprofessionalworkflows,andavastmajorityof

surveyrespondentssaidtheyexpectittobeacentralpartoftheirdailyworkflowwithinthenextfiveyears.Thereremains

somehesitationaboutGenAI’stechnicallimitations,ofcourse,particularlyaroundaccuracyofthetool.Butoverall,most

professionalsremainpositiveaboutitsapplications.They

believeitcanandshouldbeusedforkeywork,andgiventheirexperience,morefeelexcitedandhopefulaboutthefutureofGenAIthaneverbefore.Attheorganizationallevel,manyevenanticipatemajorshiftsinbudgetsandjobrolesduetoAI’srise.

TotrulyextractvaluefromGenAItools,anyGenAI

planneedstotieintothelargerstrategicobjectivesofanorganization.

Atthesametime,however,initialadoptiondoesnotnecessarilyequaltrueintegrationinto

organizations’strategyatlarge.ProfessionalsareusingGenAI,buttheyaren’tcapitalizingonGenAI’spotentialvalue.Morethanhalfofprofessionalssaidtheirorganizationsarenotmeasuringreturn-on-investment(ROI)forGenAItools,callingintoquestionhowGenAIsuccessisactuallydefinedwithinprofessionalservices.Infact,themajorityofcorporaterespondentswhoworkwithoutsidefirms

saidtheywanttheirfirmstobeusingGenAI,butatthesametime,didnotknowwhetherthosefirmswereactuallyusingGenAI.Similarly,morethanhalfoffirmrespondentssaidtheyhadnoGenAI

guidancefromtheirclients.AndwhilemostbelieveGenAIisimminentlybecomingapartoftheirdailyworkflow,onlyaboutone-thirdreportedhavingaGenAIpolicyorreceivinganykindofGenAItrainingattheirorganization.

Clearly,inthetimesinceGenAI’sintroduction,professionalservicesorganizationshavetakenthefirst

step:TheyknowwhatGenAIis—now,theseorganizationswillneedtodeterminewhyitmatters.GenAIispervasive,withanumberofdifferentapplicationsandusecasesacrosstheorganization;buttotrulyextractvaluefromGenAItools,anyGenAIplanneedstotieintothelargerstrategicobjectivesofan

organization.WhilemanyprofessionalsarenowfamiliarwithwhereGenAIfitsintotheirownlives,theirorganizationshavenotyetfullyembracedwhereGenAIfitsintobroaderfutureorganizationalplanning.

ItisintakingthisnextstepintotheGenAIfrontierthatmanyorganizationswillhavetocontendwithgoingforward.

1Thesurveyforthisreportwasdoneviaanonlinesurveywith1,702respondentsfromthelegal;tax,accounting&audit;corporaterisk&fraud;andgovernmentprofessions.ThesurveywasconductedinJanuaryandFebruary2025.(Forafullerbreakdownofthesurveydemographics,seetheMethodologysectionattheendofthisreport.)

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Keyfindings

?Steadyusageincreases—Alargeproportion(41%)ofrespondentssaidtheypersonallyuse

publicly-availabletoolssuchasChatGPT,and17%saidtheypersonallyuseindustry-specific

GenAItools.Onanorganization-widelevel,meanwhile,thepercentageofrespondentswhosaidtheirorganizationswereactivelyusingGenAInearlydoubledoverthepastyear,to22%in2025,comparedto12%in2024.Anadditional50%ofrespondentssaidtheirorganizationsareeithercreatingplanstouseGenAIordecidingwhetherornottodoso.

?Soontobecentraltoworkflow—WhileGenAIadoptionhasbeensteadythusfar,many

respondentssaidtheyexpectitsusetoincreasequickly.Just13%sayGenAIiscentraltotheir

organization’sworkflowcurrently,butanadditional29%believeitwillbecentralwithinthenext

year.Further,95%ofallrespondentsbelieveitwillbecentraltotheirorganization’sworkflowwithinthenextfiveyears.

?Maintainingpositivity—Morethanhalf(55%)ofallrespondentscategorizetheirsentiment

towardsGenAIintheirprofessionasexcitedorhopeful.Meanwhile,theproportionwhosaidtheywerehesitant,concernedorfearfulfell12percentagepointsoverthepastyear.Morethan60%alsosaidGenAIactivelyshouldbeusedforworkintheirindustry,and89%saidtheybelievetheycanseeGenAIusecasesintheirownwork.

?Businessquestionsremain—Evenwiththesestrongusageincreases,however,fewareyet

realizingthebusinessimpactofGenAI.Only20%ofrespondentssaidtheyknewtheirorganizationsweremeasuringROIofGenAI,andmanyfirmrespondentsremainunsureaboutitsimpactonratesorclientcosts.Fortheirpart,amajority(57%)ofclientswanttheirfirmstobeusingGenAI—but

71%oflawfirmclientsand59%oftaxfirmclientssaidtheydidnotknowwhethertheiroutsidefirmsweredoingsoornot.

?Policies&trainingstillneeded—TheriseingeneralGenAIusagealsohasnottranslatedto

widespreadguardrailsarounditsuse.Morethanhalfofrespondents(52%)saidtheybelievedtheirorganizationshadnopoliciesaroundGenAIatwork,whetherastandalonepolicyoraspartofa

largertechnologypolicy.Nearlytwo-thirds(64%),meanwhile,saidtheyhadreceivednoGenAItrainingatwork.

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PerceptionsofGenAI

AsmembersofprofessionalservicesorganizationshavebecomemorefamiliarwithGenAI,their

hesitanceandfearofthetechnologyhasbeguntofade.Unlike2024,wheremoresurveyrespondentsreportedfeelinghesitantcomparedtoanyotheremotion,nowmoreprofessionalsreportbeingexcitedandhopefuloverGenAI’sfutureintheirindustries.ManyalreadyenvisionafutureinwhichGenAInot

onlycanbeusedintheirdailywork,butactivelyshouldbecentraltohowtheyoperate.

Withthisinmind,itisclearthatGenAIisnotsimplyatop-downdirectivefromtheheadsof

organizations,corporatedepartmentsorfirms.Eveninindustriesthatareoftenseenasresistancetochange,GenAIhasbeenembracedbyprofessionalsthroughoutmanyorganizations.

Indeed,whenaskedhowtheyviewthefutureofGenAIintheworkplace,morethanhalf(55%)ofrespondentssaidtheywereexcitedorhopefulaboutthetechnology.Thatrepresentsacombinedincreaseof11percentagepointscomparedto2024.

FIGURE1:

SentimentonthefutureofGenAI

20242025

35%

28%

27%

23%

24%

21%

15%

16%

2%2%2%3%

ExcitedHopefulHesitantConcernedFearfulNoneofthese

Source:ThomsonReuters2025

Meanwhile,therewasalsoan11-percentagepointdropintheproportionofrespondentswhosaidtheywerehesitantaboutthetechnology.Respondentsnotedthatthemoretimetheyhavehadtoexploreandexperimentwiththetechnology,themoresomeofthoseinitialhesitanciesfadedaway.

“It’slikeanyothertool,yousimplyneedtomasterit,”saidoneAustraliantaxfirmaccountant.“Idon’tthinkitreplacestheperson,but[ratherit]requiresthepersontoperformtherigorousthinkingtowhatisbeingproducedbyAI.”

Thissentimentwasreflectedbyanumberofrespondents:thegrowingrealizationthatGenAI

technologyisnotintendedtoreplaceprofessionals,buttoaugmenttheworkthattheyalready

perform.WhenaskedwhytheyviewGenAI’simpactpositively,manyrespondentspointedtothe

possibilitytomaketheirworkmoreproductiveandsavetime.Andfromabusinessperspective,thesetimesavingsarenotonlyhelpful,butcouldbecrucialtokeepingupwithanincreasinglyfast-pacedandcompetitivebusinessworld.

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FIGURE2:

Top5reasonsrespondentschoseExcited

1.2.3.4.5.

Itwillprovideusefultoolsandsolutions

processes

Canbe

transformativeforourindustry/workingeneral

Willbringnew

opportunities/

innovation/

growth

Expectincreased

productivity/

efficiency

Willassistin

savingtime/

streamlinework

Source:ThomsonReuters2025

“Weneedashiftintheindustryastalenthasbecomeexpensive,therearecapacitylimitations,and

clientsaredemandinggreatervalueforless,”saidoneUStaxfirmdirector.“Theindustryisalsoshiftingincapacityinwhatpeoplearewillingtoworkasworkvs.lifeexpectationsshift.So,wearelosingcapacitywithintheexistingworkforceandenteringlesspeopleintotheprofession.AIasaproductivityboostis

criticaltooursustainability.”

“Ichose‘excited’becauseIseegenerativeAIasagame-changerinourindustry,”addedaUScorporatetaxmanager.“Ithasthepotentialtostreamlinecomplexprocesses,improveefficiency,andunlock

innovativesolutionsthatwerepreviouslyunimaginable.Fromautomatingrepetitivetaskstoenhancing

decision-makingwithdata-driveninsights,theopportunitiesareendless.Theprospectofleveragingthistechnologytonotonlysavetimebutalsoaddstrategicvaluemakesthefuturefeelfullofpossibilities.”

Thoserespondentswhovoicedmorenegativesentimentstowardsthefutureoftechnology,ontheotherhand,saidtheydesireamorefinishedproductbeforejumpingintoGenAI.Someanticipatetechnologicalissues—agreaterpercentagecitedconcernsaroundaccuracyandmisinformationthandidin2024.

Othersseemorelogisticalconcerns,suchastheneedtotrainwideswathsoftheworkforcenotonlyonhowtousethetools,butalsotocheckforhallucinationsandpotentialbiaseswithinthetools.

FIGURE3:

Top5reasonsrespondentschoseHesitant

2.3.4.5.

Fearofunknown/

uncertainof

trajectoryofAI

Concernswith

over-reliance

onAIwithinour

industry

Skepticalitcan

deliverpromised

results/have

experiencedpast

failures

Needscareful

monitoringand

oversight

Concernedwith

itsaccuracy/

misinformation

1.

Source:ThomsonReuters2025

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“IfIcouldbe100%positivethatwhatisproducedbyAIwasinallaspectscorrect(i.e.,uptodatewithlegislation,caselaw,etc.)thenI’dbeoverthemoon,”saidoneUKlawfirmattorney.“Idoworryaboutlayclientsusingit,asI’vealreadyhadtoredraftmanydocumentswhichwereproducedbyChatGPTforthepurposesoflayclientswhohavenoideawhattoask,whattoinclude,orwhatispotentially

incorrectinwhathasbeengenerated.ThereisablindfaiththatChatGPTisalwayscorrect,anditisn’t.Peopleneedtounderstandthattheywillstillneedalegallytrainedhumanbraintoassessdocuments,etc.”

OneUSgovernmentseniorpolicyanalystalsovoicedconcernsaboutthetechnology’simpact,saying:“TherearesomanyopportunitiesandnewinnovationsthatcomewithgenerativeAI.Thatisexciting;however,Iamconcernedaboutthelarge,rapidtechnologicalshiftandthechallengesthatbrings.

Existingworkforcesneedtoberetrainedabouthowtouse,howtochallenge,andhowtorecognizetheuseofgenerativeAI,andtherearealsoseriousethicalandprivacyconcerns,particularlywhenworkinginthelegalfield.Ihavenotseenmanyorganizationsplanfororhandlethisshiftwell.”

RegardlessoftheirprevailingsentimenttowardsGenAI,however,therewasanoverwhelmingsense

thatitsuseinprofessionalserviceswillbeinevitableregardless.AnotheryearofGenAIexperimentationandadoptionhasfurtherreinforcedthebeliefthatGenAInotonlycanbeusedforprofessionalserviceswork,butitactivelyshouldplayapartinprofessionals’dailylives.

FIGURE4:

CanGenAIbeappliedtoindustrywork?

YesNoDon’tknow

Total

89%8%

Lawfirm

Taxfirm

Corporatelegal

Corporatetax

Corporaterisk

89%8%

89%8%

90%9%

92%7%

88%4%7%

Government

84%7%9%

Source:ThomsonReuters2025

Regardlessofinwhichindustrytheywork,avastmajorityoftoday’sprofessionals(89%)saytheyseeausecaseforGenAIwithintheirownwork.Thisrepresentsaslightincreaseover2024,when81%

ofrespondentssaidtheybelievedGenAIcouldbeappliedtotheirwork.Whilethereareanumber

ofpotentialreasonsforthisshift,thepublicavailabilityofadvancedGenAItoolssuchasChatGPT,

Google’sGemini,andMicrosoftCopilothascertainlyplayedaroleingettingprofessionalscomfortablewiththepotentialusecasesformoreindustry-centricuseofthesetypeoftools.

WhenaskedwhetherGenAInotonlycanbeusedintheprofessionalcontext,butshouldbeusedintheprofessionalcontext,respondentsweremorenon-committal—onlyslightly,however.Themajorityofrespondents(62%)acrossallrepresentedindustriessaidtheystillbelievethatGenAIactivelyshouldbeusedfortheirownworkpurposes.

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FIGURE5:

ShouldGenAIbeappliedtoindustrywork?

YesNoDon’tknow

13%

62%

Total

25%

14%

59%

Lawfirm

Taxfirm

Corporatelegal

Corporatetax

Corporaterisk

27%

71%

9%20%

11%

57%

32%

75%

8%17%

10%21%

62%

28%

48%

Government

31%

Source:ThomsonReuters2025

Notably,thosewhodidnotansweryesdidnotnecessarilysayno.MorethantwoyearsremovedfromthepublicreleaseofChatGPT,therearestillone-quarterofprofessionalswhohavenotformedastrongopinionastowhetherGenAIshouldbeusedintheworkplace.Thisisparticularlyprevalentinthelegalspace,inwhichmorethanone-quarterrespondedthattheydidnotknowwhetherornotGenAIwas

safetouse.

TheTRInstitute’sView:

Professionalservicesindustriesarenotknownforinnovatingquickly.Todate,somelegalandtaxorganizationsstillhaveconversationsaboutwhethertoadoptcloudcomputing,despite

mostlargebusinesseshavingthatparticulartechnologymorethanadecadeago.Thus,it’snottoosurprisingthatconversationsaroundGenAIadoptionhavecontinuedinto2025.ParticularlyforatechnologyaspotentiallypervasiveasGenAI,riskmitigationandproperimplementationisbothunderstandableandasoundstrategytopursue.

Thatsaid,someorganizationshavemistakeninactionforcaution.WantingtofullyvetGenAItechnologybeforeadoptionisunderstandable;however,avoidingtheconversationabout

whetherGenAIwouldbeaworthwhileadditionisnot.ParticularlygiventhatamajorityofprofessionalssaidtheybelievethatGenAIcanandshouldbeusedintheirdailyworklives,ignoranceofboththepossibilitiesandtheriskscannotbeaviableoption.

OrganizationalleadersneedtofamiliarizethemselveswithGenAI—butthatisjustafirststep,andanecessaryone.Leadersshouldhaveaconversationwithacolleague,atrustedpartner,orsomeoneintheirsphereaboutGenAI’sapplicationsintheirownindustryandworkplace.

Becauseinevitablythequestionwillarisefromaclientorelsewhere,andit’salwaysbettertohaveathoughtfulanswerready.

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Whencomparingtheyear-over-yearincreaseofthoserespondentswhosaidtheybelieveGenAI

shouldbeappliedtodailywork,oneindustrystandsout:tax,accounting&audit.In2024,thetax,

accounting&auditindustrywasbehinditslegalandcorporaterisk&fraudpeers,particularlyamong

thoserespondentswhoworkedatoutsidetaxfirms,whereonlyabouthalf(52%)saidtheybelieved

GenAIshouldbeappliedtotaxwork.Oneyearlater,thatfigurehasrisennearly20percentagepointsto71%ofrespondentsattaxfirmsand75%ofthoseatcorporatetaxdepartmentswhosaidtheybelieveGenAIshouldbeusedfortaxwork.

FIGURE6:

GenAIshouldbeappliedtoindustrywork,year-over-yearbyindustry

20242025

75%

71%

62%

60%

59%

62%62%

57%

51%

52%

48%40%

LawfirmCorplegalTaxfirmCorptaxCorpriskGovernment

Source:ThomsonReuters2025

Evenbeyondthetaxpractice,however,supportforGenAIisbecomingapartofdailylifeandhaslargelyrisenacrosstheboard,regardlessofindustry.Onlyamongcorporatelegalrespondentsdidthisbelieffall,andthatonlyslightly.

ThereasonswhyrespondentssaidtheybelieveGenAIshouldbeappliedtoworkhavelargelynot

changedoverthepastyear.ProfessionalsarelargelylookingtoGenAIforroutineandlow-leveltasks,automatingworkthatwouldthenfreethemupformorehigher-valuetasks.Timesavingsandcost

reductionarealsotopofmindformanyprofessionals.

“Ithinktherewillbeparallelswiththeintroductionofautomation,”saidoneAustraliancorporateriskmanager.“AIhasthepotentialtotransformrolesbydecreasingtheportionoflowvalue-addedtasks.

IseeAIcontinuingtocompressthetimefromidentifyingaproblemoranopportunitytothedeliveryofvalue.”

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FIGURE7:

TopreasonswhyGenAIshouldbeappliedtowork

1.2.3.4.5.

Expectincreasedefficiencyandproductivity

tasks

Assistintime

savingsor

streamlinework

processes

Assistwithor

automateroutine

andlow-value

Improvequality

andaccuracy

ofwork

Costsavingsor

costreduction

Source:ThomsonReuters2025

ThosewhosaidtheybelieveGenAIshouldnotbeusedfortheirdailywork,meanwhile,areprimarily

concernedbyreliabilityandaccuracy.GenAIbyitsnaturecannotbe100%accurateinallscenarios,andtherearesomewhowillnotacceptanythinglessthanfullaccuracy.Butevenamongthosewhowouldacceptalowerlevelofaccuracy,thereisafeelingthatGenAIhasnotreachedtheirpreferredthresholdquiteyet.

“Ithinkthereiscertainlyanopportunitytocreateefficienciesandmaximizeproductivityandoutputin

legalworkplacesthroughtheuseofGenAI.Myconcernisinrelationtotheaccuracy,reliability,andsafetyofusingthistechnology,”saidoneAustraliangovernmentattorney.“Givenitisfairlyunregulatedatthis

pointintime,Ithinkthereneedstobemore‘scaffolding’foritsuseinalegalsettingbeforeitcanbesafelyadoptedandusedmorebroadly.”

FIGURE8:

TopreasonswhyGenAIshouldnotbeappliedtowork

4.5.

Concernedabout

limitationsand

biases

Needforhumanoversightor regulation

thinking

Concernedabout

reliabilityand

accuracy

Concernedwith

generaloutputor

lackofnuanced

Lackofhumantouchorintuition

3.

2.

1.

Source:ThomsonReuters2025

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Still,somesaidtheyhavemoreexistentialconcernssurroundingGenAItechnology.Sinceitsrelease,

manyhavespeculatedonwhetherGenAIwillcausejobloss,impactthebottomlinesofcompaniesorfirms,orcausethedemiseofprofessionalservicesaltogether.Inactuality,however,fewprofessionalsactuallysaidtheybelievethatGenAIisamajorthreatineachoftheseareas—fewerthan20%of

legalprofessionalsandfewerthan10%oftax,accounting&auditprofessionalssaidtheyseeGenAIascomingfortheirjobsorbottomlines.

Wheretheimpactmaybemorefelt,however,isinsomeofthemoreexistentialpartsoftheprofession.Forinstance,manyrespondentssaidtheybelievetherewillbeamajorimpactontheunauthorized

practiceoflaw—theabilityofnon-lawyersortechnologytoperformtheworkoflawyers.In2007,theUKliberalizeditslegalservicesmarketthroughtheLegalServicesAct,whichpermittedalternative

businessstructures.SomeUSstates,notablyUtahandArizona,havefollowedsuitinamorelimitedfashion.ManyrespondentssaidtheybelieveGenAImayacceleratethistimeline.

FIGURE9:

GenAI’sthreatpotentialtoindustry

IsgenerativeAIathreattothelegalindustry?

1=nothreatatall2=minimalthreat3=somewhatofathreat4=majorthreat

6%21%37%36%

7%34%44%15%

Unauthorizedpracticeoflaw

Jobsimpact

10%41%39%10%

13%40%37%10%

Lessneedand/orworkforlawyers

Billing/firmRevenueImpact

IsgenerativeAIathreattothetaxindustry?

1=nothreatatall2=minimalthreat3=somewhatofathreat4=majorthreat

Lessneedand/orworkfortaxpros

Jobsimpact

Billing/firmrevenueimpact

19%49%26%5%

14%40%37%9%

27%43%23%7%

Source:ThomsonReuters2025

Evenwiththesequestionsstilllooming,however,respondentsgenerallysaidtheybelievethatGenAIwillworkoutmanyofitsearlyissuesandbecomeacrucialpartoftheirworkmovingforward.No

matterthereasons—whetherafullembraceofthetechnologyoranunderstandingthatitisanecessitytokeepup—thereisoverallanacceptancethatGenAIisheretostay.

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TheTRInstitute’sView:

ForallofthemediacoverageandguidancereleasedinvolvingGenAI,it’simportantto

rememberthatthesentimentaroundthistechnologyisstilldeveloping.Lessthanthree

yearswithanewtechnologyofthispossiblemagnitudeisnotalongenoughtimeformanypractitionerstohavedevelopedaconcreteopinion,especiallyinthegrandschemeof

professionalservicesindustries.Afterall,inthelegalindustryforexample,theAmericanBarAssociationwasstillreleasingguidancearoundhowtohandlereplyallemailsasrecentlyasNovember2022.

ThetrueanswerabouthowGenAImayimpactjobs,revenue,ortheprofessionatlargemaybeyears—ifnotdecades—away.

Thatsaid,ofcourse,establishinghands-onexperiencewithGenAItoolsisthebestwayto

movetheseopinionsfromtheoreticaltoinformed.Forinstance,consternationaboutwhetherGenAIwilltakejobscanbemoreeasilyplacatedwhenprofessionalsbetterunderstandwhattasksthesetoolscanandcannotdo.Similarly,concernsaboutaccuracyandreliabilitywillbebetterunderstoodwhenusersunderstandwhyhallucinationsandothermistakesoccur.

It’scriticalfororganizationalleaderstoremember—onlythroughhands-onexperimentationwillbothevangelistsandskepticsbeabletofindcommongroundinthetech-enabledfuture.

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Usageandintegration

Inthepreviousversionofthisreport,wewrotethatmanyprofessionalsin2024“stillconsidertheir

workplacestobeintheconsiderationphase”ofAIadoption.Respondentsatthattimehadsaidtheirworkplaceshadbegunexperimentingwiththetechnology’susecasesandstrategi