Zoho Survey Reveals Different Attitudes Towards Productive AI and Data Privacy

Zoho Corporation recently released the findings of its “Data Privacy and Productive AI Uses” study, conducted in partnership with CRM Essentials.

The study surveyed 1,000 US employees across a variety of industries, company sizes, and disciplines to understand how they interact with Generative AI at work, their attitudes toward the technology, and their concerns about data privacy.

Raju Vegesna, Chief Evangelist at Zoho, says, “Survey data shows that employees will benefit greatly from productive AI, but their skepticism stems from a lack of knowledge more than privacy concerns.

“However, it is important for businesses to recognize the potential risks of using GenAI. Companies must adopt a holistic approach to gradually integrate AI features while training their employees how to use the technology safely within strict guidelines to minimize risk and achieve lasting success in the digital workplace era. “

The Rise of GenAI at Work

The study highlights an important divide between everyday users of GenAI and those who have yet to use the technology.

Among the respondents, only 24% reported that they use GenAI every day, while 37% said that they never use it, mainly because their companies do not approve its use. Despite low adoption, those using GenAI have reported significant benefits:

• 40% of everyday users say GenAI has “dramatically increased” their productivity.
• 17% he said that GenAI has become “essential” to their daily work.

The study also revealed that GenAI is primarily used to support repetitive tasks. Common everyday uses of GenAI among employees include getting quick answers to work-related questions (19.9%), creating email content (15.3%), creating videos (12.2%), and summarizing long business documents (11.6%).

Interesting, only 18% of respondents use GenAI for work purposes only, with 32.5% using it especially at work, 22.9% both work and personal use, and 16.5% personal activities only.

Employee View of GenAI: Optimistic Yet Cautious

The study found that daily users of GenAI tend to have a positive opinion of the technology compared to non-users. Among everyday users, 78% they believed that AI would have a positive impact on their work experience, while only 13% to non-users share this sentiment. In addition, 56% of everyday users expressed comfort with sharing personal data with GenAI, relatively speaking 12% for non-users.

Despite the optimism among everyday users, there are still a few important concerns about the broader implications of AI:

• 46% of all respondents believe that AI threatens their safety at work.
• 26% described AI as a “necessary evil.”
• 74% of respondents called for government legislation to regulate how AI is trained using employee data.
• 75% represents the law that will govern intellectual property rights related to AI-generated content.

Brent Leary, Partner at CRM Essentials, commented on the survey results, emphasizing the need for companies to take a strategic approach to GenAI adoption. “Companies are rushing to implement productive AI without a strategic plan, forcing employees who are understandably reluctant to get on board,” Leary said. “Our survey meets employees where they are by disentangling their feelings about AI and showing the best ways forward in increasing the adoption of this powerful new technology.”

Data Privacy Issues: Convenience Over Caution

The study underscores the paradox in employee attitudes toward privacy and convenience. Although many respondents expressed concern about potential privacy risks associated with GenAI, most still prioritize convenience over data protection. Specifically:

• 67% of respondents prioritized ease of use over data privacy.
• 30% of daily users reported that they are comfortable sharing personal data with GenAI tools.

Among those reluctant to adopt GenAI due to privacy concerns, the top issues included sharing financial information (18.6%), personal identification information (16.8%), location data (12.2%), and health information (11.8%).

Preferences in Performance Evaluation: Human Evaluation vs. AI

The study also explored how employees feel about the role of AI in evaluating job performance. The results revealed that:

• 39.3% of respondents prefer that their performance and behavior be evaluated by people.
• 12.2% they were comfortable with the AI ​​doing these tests.
• 16.3% he felt equally comfortable being tested by AI or humans.
• 22.2% they were more comfortable with a combination of both AI and human testing.

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