Time-saving the top benefit of AI for Singaporean businesses: Zoom

Both employers and employees near unanimous in saying AI streamlines the workplace

More than 90% of leaders and employees of Singapore-based businesses agree on time-saving as the top benefit of artificial intelligence (AI) in the workplace, according to a survey by tech giant Zoom.

With the help of AI, 94% of the employees polled said they have fewer repetitive workloads and found more time to focus on other tasks, while leaders were able to complete work faster, results showed. 

Close to half of leaders in the city-state also saw the adoption of AI resulted in a happier workforce and helped improve teams’ decision-making.

Among the 1,001 respondents surveyed, however, the survey showed the preference of leaders and employees regarding the use of AI differs. For employees, the majority prefer to use AI to automate repetitive tasks, get real-time help during meetings as well as summarise meetings, chat messages and notes. 

Meanwhile, leaders mainly prefer using AI to get real-time help during meetings, have better sound and video quality during meetings, and draft emails and chat messages.

Sentiments for AI in the workplace run high for both employers and employees in the city-state, however, only 45% of Singaporean leaders believe that teams using AI will have an advantage over those who don’t. 

The survey also showed leaders see their teams’ resistance against new tech or lack of digital literacy as the biggest barriers in adopting AI. Meanwhile, nearly six in ten of employees said they are not utlising AI because their companies do not adopt the tech.

Cost remains the main drawback of AI for around 83% of both employers and employees.

Other deterrents for employees are concerns about potentially losing their jobs, security and mistrust in its accuracy. For leaders, they fear employees would become too dependent on AI, that AI was too impersonal and that too much training was required in using these tools.