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Measuring AI Adoption: Survey Questions for HR

A ready-to-use employee survey template for HR leaders to measure how AI-enabled their organization really is. Includes questions and interpretation guidance.

If you asked your leadership team how AI-enabled your organization is, you’d likely get confident answers. But research from McKinsey found a major perception gap: C-suite leaders estimate only 4% of employees use AI for 30% or more of their daily work, when the actual number is 3x higher.

The only way to know how AI-enabled your organization really is? Ask your employees directly.

This article provides a complete survey template you can deploy to measure AI adoption across your organization. The questions cover three dimensions: how often employees use AI, what they use it for, and whether it’s actually making them more productive.

Why Measure AI Adoption Now

HR leaders need baseline data on AI usage to make informed decisions about training investments, tool procurement, and change management. Without measurement, you’re guessing at adoption rates and missing opportunities to support employees who are struggling with new technology.

Gallup’s 2025 research shows AI usage is accelerating rapidly: the percentage of employees using AI at least a few times a year jumped from 40% to 45% in a single quarter. But averages obscure wide variation. Technology workers report 76% adoption, while manufacturing sits at 38%. Your organization’s adoption curve depends on role mix, tool availability, and culture.

A survey gives you:

  • Baseline metrics to track progress over time
  • Department-level data to identify gaps
  • Qualitative feedback on barriers and opportunities
  • Training needs based on actual skill levels

Survey Design Principles

Before deploying the questions below, keep three principles in mind:

  1. Make the survey anonymous: employees will underreport AI usage if they fear judgment.
  2. Keep it short: 10-15 questions takes 5-7 minutes, which maximizes completion rates.
  3. Include open-ended questions: multiple choice captures frequency, but you need free text to understand the “why.”

Send the survey via your existing employee engagement platform (Culture Amp, Lattice, SurveyMonkey, etc.) rather than a standalone tool. Employees are more likely to complete surveys that arrive through familiar channels.

Dimension 1: Frequency and Depth of Use

These questions establish how often employees interact with AI tools and how deeply integrated AI is in their daily work. Start here to understand the baseline.

Question 1: How often do you use AI tools for work?

  • Daily
  • A few times a week
  • A few times a month
  • Rarely (a few times a year)
  • Never

Question 2: What percentage of your typical workday involves AI assistance?

  • More than 50%
  • 25-50%
  • 10-25%
  • Less than 10%
  • 0% (I don’t use AI at work)

Question 3: Has your AI usage increased, decreased, or stayed the same over the past 6 months?

  • Increased significantly
  • Increased somewhat
  • Stayed the same
  • Decreased somewhat
  • Decreased significantly

Question 4: Do you use AI tools that your company provides, or do you use your own tools (or both)?

  • Only company-provided tools
  • Mostly company-provided, some personal
  • About equal
  • Mostly personal tools, some company-provided
  • Only personal tools

This last question matters for security and procurement. EY’s 2025 Work Reimagined Survey found that 88% of employees use AI at work, but organizations often don’t know which tools employees have adopted on their own.

Dimension 2: Tools and Use Cases

Understanding which tools employees use and for what tasks reveals where AI has taken hold and where gaps remain. These questions move beyond frequency to capture practical application.

Question 5: Which AI tools do you use for work? (Select all that apply)

  • ChatGPT or similar conversational AI
  • GitHub Copilot or code assistants
  • Writing assistants (Grammarly, Jasper, etc.)
  • Image generation (Midjourney, DALL-E, etc.)
  • Meeting transcription (Otter, Fireflies, etc.)
  • Other (please specify)
  • None

Question 6: What tasks do you use AI for? (Select all that apply)

  • Writing and editing content
  • Summarizing documents or meetings
  • Generating ideas or brainstorming
  • Analyzing data
  • Coding or technical tasks
  • Research and information gathering
  • Creating presentations
  • Other (please specify)

Question 7: Which work tasks do you think AI could help with but currently doesn’t? (Open-ended)

Question 8: Have you discovered a particularly effective way to use AI that you’d recommend to colleagues? (Open-ended)

Open-ended questions like 7 and 8 surface opportunities your organization might be missing. Employees on the ground often see automation potential that leadership overlooks.

Dimension 3: Perceived Value and Outcomes

Adoption without impact is meaningless. These questions measure whether AI is actually delivering value from the employee’s perspective.

Question 9: How much time does AI save you in a typical week?

  • More than 5 hours
  • 2-5 hours
  • 1-2 hours
  • Less than 1 hour
  • No time saved (or time lost)

Question 10: How has AI affected the quality of your work?

  • Significantly improved
  • Somewhat improved
  • No change
  • Somewhat decreased
  • Significantly decreased

Question 11: How confident are you in your ability to use AI tools effectively?

  • Very confident
  • Somewhat confident
  • Neutral
  • Not very confident
  • Not at all confident

Question 12: What is the biggest barrier to using AI more at work?

  • Lack of training
  • Don’t know which tools to use
  • Concerns about accuracy or reliability
  • Company policies or restrictions
  • My work doesn’t lend itself to AI
  • I don’t see the value
  • Other (please specify)

Question 12 is particularly valuable for planning. If most employees cite lack of training, that’s a different intervention than if they cite company policies.

Interpreting Your Results

Once responses come in, benchmark against available data. For frequency metrics, Pew Research found 21% of U.S. workers use AI on the job in 2025, with 19% saying “some” of their work is done with AI. If your numbers are significantly lower, you may have adoption barriers. If higher, you’re ahead of the curve.

Low adoption signals (investigate further):

  • Less than 20% using AI weekly
  • Majority citing “lack of training” as barrier
  • High personal tool usage vs. company tools
  • Declining usage over time

Healthy adoption signals:

  • 40%+ using AI at least weekly
  • Multiple use cases per employee
  • Growing usage trend
  • Confidence levels above “neutral”

Segment results by department, tenure, and role type. You’ll likely find pockets of high adoption alongside departments where AI hasn’t penetrated. This tells you where to focus enablement resources.

Acting on Survey Results

Survey data only matters if you act on it. Based on common findings, here are interventions matched to problems.

If training is the barrier: Run targeted workshops focused on the 2-3 highest-value use cases for each department. Generic “AI 101” training rarely moves the needle.

If tool access is the barrier: Audit which tools employees are using personally and evaluate whether to provide enterprise versions. Shadow IT creates security risks.

If confidence is low: Pair heavy AI users with skeptics for peer learning. Employees trust colleagues more than corporate training programs.

If value isn’t clear: Dig into the qualitative responses. Employees may be using AI for low-impact tasks while missing high-impact applications.

Running the Survey Regularly

One survey gives you a snapshot. Repeated surveys show trajectory. Consider running this survey quarterly during periods of rapid change (new tool rollouts, policy shifts) and annually once adoption stabilizes.

Track the same core metrics over time to build a trend line. Add questions as new tools emerge or priorities shift, but keep a consistent core for comparability.

The organizations that win with AI will be the ones that know where they stand—not the ones guessing. A 10-minute employee survey is the fastest path to ground truth.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you measure AI adoption in the workplace?

Measure AI adoption by surveying employees across three dimensions: frequency of use (how often they use AI tools), breadth of use cases (what tasks they apply AI to), and perceived value (whether AI is making them more productive). Compare results against industry benchmarks.

What questions should HR ask about AI usage?

Ask employees how frequently they use AI tools, which specific tools they use, what tasks they apply AI to, whether they've received training, and how much time AI saves them. Include both multiple-choice and open-ended questions to capture nuance.

What percentage of employees use AI at work?

According to Gallup research from 2025, 45% of U.S. employees use AI at work at least a few times a year, with 23% using it weekly and 10% using it daily. Rates vary significantly by industry and role.

How often should organizations survey employees about AI?

Run AI adoption surveys quarterly during initial rollout, then annually once adoption stabilizes. This frequency lets you track trends, measure the impact of training programs, and identify departments that need additional support.