UiPath recently published its annual Global Knowledge Worker Survey, unveiling critical insights into how employees worldwide utilise generative AI (GenAI) tools, the existing gaps in enterprise direction and training, and the significant opportunities for combining GenAI with business automation. 

The survey findings were showcased at the UiPath AI-Powered Automation Summit in Bangalore, a key event in a series of Asia Pacific and Japan roadshows aimed at helping businesses harness AI's potential through automation integration.

Key Survey Findings

The Global Knowledge Worker Report, based on responses from over 9,000 workers across nine countries, revealed several significant trends and insights:

Time Savings and Productivity:

• Time-Saving Benefits: 42% of respondents using GenAI tools reported saving ten or more hours weekly. This significant time-saving allows nearly half (48%) to focus on more creative tasks.
• Enhanced Productivity with Automation: Employees combining GenAI with business automation reported even more substantial benefits, with 55% saving over 10 hours weekly. It compares favourably to the 31% of those using only GenAI and 33% using only business automation.

Lack of Training and Trust:

• Training Deficiencies: Less than half (45%) of workers have received training or guidelines on using GenAI, highlighting a significant gap in enterprise support.
• Trust Issues: Only 48% of respondents trust the outputs from GenAI tools. Trust levels vary significantly by region, with Japan (26%), Germany (47%), and the U.S. (48%) showing the least trust, while Singapore (67%), Korea (63%), and Hong Kong (62%) exhibit the highest levels of trust.

Application

GenAI tools are being widely used across various departments for tasks such as drafting communications (38%), brainstorming (34%), and summarizing long-form content (30%).

UiPath introduced its new family of large language models (LLMs), DocPATH and CommPATH at the summit. Unlike general-purpose models like GPT-4, these LLMs are designed for specific tasks, offering a precise understanding of documents and message types, thus eliminating the need for imprecise and time-consuming prompt engineering.

DocPATH and CommPATH: These models provide businesses with powerful tools to customize AI to their requirements, significantly enhancing performance and accuracy for specific tasks.

Benefits of Combining GenAI with Business Automation

The survey emphasized that the combination of GenAI and business automation maximizes business value:

• Productivity Gains: 43% of employees reported increased productivity and faster task completion.
• Improved Accuracy: 39% observed more accurate work outputs.
• Better Work-Life Balance: 38% noted improvements in their work-life balance.

These technologies help achieve greater efficiency and effectiveness, underlining the need for strategic integration to unlock their full potential.

The survey also highlighted rising burnout levels among employees, with 32% feeling extremely or very burnt out, up from 29% the previous year. GenAI presents an opportunity to alleviate some of the burdensome tasks contributing to this issue, but successful deployment hinges on adequate training and support.

Arun Balasubramanian, Vice President & Managing Director of India & South Asia at UiPath, stressed the importance of training and upskilling employees to harness GenAI's full potential. He also highlighted the critical role of integrating GenAI with business automation platforms to maximize benefits and ensure trustworthiness and security.

Vasant Rao, Managing Director, IDC India, underscored the rapid advancement of AI in India, particularly with the country's second phase of its national AI strategy and action plan in 2024. He emphasized that integrating automation with AI will be crucial for Indian organizations to enhance efficiency, boost productivity, and drive business growth.

Conclusion

The UiPath Global Knowledge Worker Survey highlights the transformative potential of GenAI tools in the workplace. However, it also reveals significant gaps in training and trust that must be addressed. By integrating GenAI with business automation and providing comprehensive training, enterprises can unlock substantial time savings, productivity gains, and improved work-life balance for their employees, paving the way for a more efficient and innovative future.

Source: UiPath

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