ADP Research: AI Usage Among Chinese Workers Significantly Exceeds the Global Average

14 July, 2026

Half of workers globally use AI multiple times a week, with one in five (20%) using it nearly every day
In China, 73% of workers use AI multiple times a week, with 26% of Chinese workers using it daily.
Frequent AI users report higher engagement and lower negative stress than non-users, but are more likely to question their productivity.
People at Work 2026 is built on ADP Research's Global Workforce Survey, which captures responses from over 39,000 workers in 36 markets to understand the world of work at large and gauge worker sentiment.

SHANGHAI, CHINA, July 14, 2026 – Artificial intelligence (AI) is becoming part of everyday work, with half of workers surveyed globally reporting that they use it multiple times a week, according to ADP Research’s most recent issue of People at Work 2026. One in five workers say they use AI almost daily, highlighting how quickly the technology has evolved into a routine workplace tool.

While 30% of workers who use AI daily in their work report feeling fully engaged, the research reveals a gap in perceptions toward AI productivity. Daily users are four times more likely than non-users to feel less productive than non-users, suggesting that frequent users may feel like they have achieved less as AI becomes more integrated into their daily work. As more routine tasks are delegated to AI and workers transition to longer-term, strategic projects, organisations may need to reassess how productivity is tracked at work.

In China, the pattern echoes the global findings, but the level of AI usage is even more prominent. 73% of workers use it multiple times a week, with 26% saying they use AI nearly every day. Daily and weekly AI usage rates of Chinese workers are significantly higher than the global average, reflecting the proactive embrace of emerging technologies by Chinese enterprises and workers.

Lily Ma, General Manager of ADP North Asia, said, "The speed and depth of AI adoption in the Chinese workplace are remarkable, with employee AI usage far exceeding the global average. AI is reshaping how work gets done, but adoption alone does not guarantee a sense of productivity. For employers, this presents an opportunity to invest in training that enables employees to work effectively alongside AI, strengthening their performance, confidence, and long-term employability.”

Key Trends of AI Usage in the Chinese Workplace

The report highlights several key trends shaping AI use at work across demographics and work types:

Workers in China are optimistic about AI, with 27% believing it will positively impact their job responsibilities in the coming year.
Knowledge workers are the most confident about the benefits AI can bring. 39% of Chinese knowledge workers "strongly agree" that AI will help them better perform their job responsibilities, which is higher compared to skilled task workers (19%) and repetitive task workers (12%).
Workers aged 27 to 39 in China are the most frequent AI users, with 32% of them using AI almost daily.
Only 1.7% of workers in China say they have never been exposed to AI, which is far lower than the global average (15%), demonstrating Chinese workers' high acceptance of AI.

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