12.9% of Workers Have AI at Workplace, 8.4% Use It Themselves, 6.4% Use Generative AI — Insights into the Barriers to On-Site Adoption from a Survey of 22,000 Workers

FULLFACT Inc. (Headquarters: Tokyo, CEO: Ayato Ashida), a company specializing in AI implementation support, has released the 'On-Site AI Adoption Report 2026,' a reanalysis of publicly available statistics, government documents, and international organization reports.

This report explores the gap between personal and workplace AI usage through worker surveys and international comparisons, organizing AI utilization from the perspectives of management decisions, business processes, on-site use, learning, and governance.

Key Points

- Limited workplace adoption: According to JILPT, 12.9% of employees work at companies using AI, 8.4% personally use AI, and 6.4% use generative AI. - Different from personal use: The Ministry of Internal Affairs reports that 26.7% of individuals in Japan have experience using generative AI. Although the target populations and survey questions differ, this highlights the gap between personal exposure and workplace integration. - Significant industry disparities: The OECD reports an 18.8 percentage point gap in workplace AI usage between Japan’s information and communication sector (22.9%) and accommodation and food services (4.1%). - Expectation of future growth: JILPT finds that 55.6% of workers believe AI usage in the workplace will advance within the next 10 years, rising to 92.5% among current AI users. - Stronger support systems abroad: IMDA reports that 73.8% of workers in Singapore use AI tools at work, with 71% receiving employer support. Support primarily includes training, paid tools, and policy guidance. - Redesigning work as the next challenge: Microsoft identifies the redesign of knowledge work and business processes, premised on collaboration with AI agents, as the next key topic.

Background

There is a difference between individuals having experience with AI and using it for their own tasks at work. The former is personal experience, while the latter is influenced by workflow integration, supervisor approval, information management, and performance metrics.

AI users strongly anticipate future growth, while non-users also expect some increase. This gap suggests that those who have used AI can more concretely envision changes in their work.

For on-site adoption, it is essential not only to provide training but also to establish clear guidelines on appropriate use cases, verification methods, internal data access, and consultation channels. Leaving it to individual teams risks creating a situation where only knowledgeable individuals use AI.

Key Considerations for Initial AI Implementation

- Use cases: Select tasks that teams use weekly, such as document creation, information retrieval, meeting minutes, FAQs, and proposals. - Supervisor review: Do not use AI outputs directly; define reviewers and review criteria. - Training: Provide general training for all employees, supplemented by department-specific practical exercises. - Consultation channels: Establish support desks for teams to consult when uncertain about input data or incorrect outputs. - Improvement logs: Accumulate examples of successful and unsuccessful uses to continuously update business rules.

Survey Overview

- Report title: On-Site AI Adoption Report 2026 - Analyzing entity: FULLFACT Inc. - Methodology: Reanalysis of public statistics, official documents, international reports, and reliable private surveys - Release date: June 14, 2026

Notes

Since each survey differs in target countries, populations, timing, and question definitions, the figures are not intended as a funnel from the same population but as comparative materials to understand the progress of AI implementation.

Key Sources

- JILPT, 'Impact of AI Workplace Introduction on Workstyles,' Series No. 256 https://www.jil.go.jp/institute/research/2025/256.html - OECD, Artificial Intelligence and the Labour Market in Japan https://www.oecd.org/en/publications/artificial-intelligence-and-the-labour-market-in-japan_b825563e-en/full-report.html - Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, 'Overview of the 2025 Information and Communications White Paper' https://www.soumu.go.jp/johotsusintokei/whitepaper/ja/r07/summary/summary01.pdf - IPA, 'DX Trends 2025' https://www.ipa.go.jp/digital/chousa/dx-trend/dx-trend-2025.html - IMDA, Singapore Digital Economy Report 2024/2025 https://www.imda.gov.sg/resources/press-releases-factsheets-and-speeches/factsheets/2024/ar-sgde-2024 - U.S. Census Bureau, The Microstructure of AI Diffusion https://www.census.gov/library/working-papers/2026/adrm/CES-WP-26-25.html - Microsoft, 2025 Work Trend Index Annual Report https://cdn-dynmedia-1.microsoft.com/is/content/microsoftcorp/microsoft/final/en-us/microsoft-product-and-services/ai/pdf/executive-summary-work-trend-index-annual-report.pdf

Free Advisory Program (Limited to 10 Slots)

FULLFACT offers a free advisory program (limited to 10 slots) based on the insights from this report, helping organizations define initial use cases, available data, accountability structures, and review rules for AI implementation. An AI implementation diagnostic service, assessing business, data, and organizational structures, is also available upon request.

Contact:

https://fullfact.net/contact

Full Report (PDF):

https://fullfact.net/reports/ai-workplace-adoption-japan

About FULLFACT Inc.

FULLFACT Inc. provides consulting services to redesign corporate operations with AI at the core. Beyond tool implementation, the company supports clients holistically in data infrastructure development, business process redesign, and organizational adoption.

- Company name: FULLFACT Inc. - Representative: CEO Ayato Ashida - Website: https://fullfact.net - Business activities: AI implementation support, business operation redesign, data infrastructure development support

Media Contact

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