Two-in-five Irish workers say AI is essential at work

Landmark Technologies has published research showing that 38% of Irish office workers say they could not do their jobs without artificial intelligence. The survey also found that 87% use AI tools at work.

The findings point to a workforce that has adopted AI quickly, while also exposing gaps in workplace controls and training. Landmark commissioned Censuswide to survey 1,000 employees in the Republic of Ireland about their use of AI, concerns about job security and the rules governing the technology at work.

More than half of respondents, or 55%, said AI would significantly change their job. At the same time, 43% were concerned it could make their role redundant, while 64% said they were actively learning AI skills to stay relevant.

Use of the technology appears widespread. Of those surveyed, 87% said they use AI tools for work, and 48% of that group said they use them every day.

Risk exposure

The research also highlighted how staff are using AI in sensitive areas of work. A quarter of AI users said they use the tools to summarise contracts or legal documents, 23% use them to make decisions without human oversight, and 18% analyse confidential company data with them.

That pattern of use has been accompanied by behaviour that may concern employers. One in 10 respondents said they had entered confidential company data into an AI tool not approved by their employer. Another 18% said they had completed a work task using an AI tool without checking it for accuracy, while 11% had sent AI-generated content to a customer without reviewing it.

Nearly half of employees surveyed, or 48%, said they trust AI-generated content for critical work decisions. The findings suggest reliance on AI is expanding beyond routine productivity tasks into areas with legal, commercial and data protection implications.

Policy gaps

The survey also indicated that some organisations have yet to put basic guardrails in place for employee use of the technology. Almost a quarter of respondents, or 24%, said their employer does not have an AI usage policy, while 66% said they had received training on safe AI use.

These figures suggest a substantial minority of workers may be using AI tools without clear internal rules or formal guidance. In practice, that can leave companies exposed if staff place sensitive information into third-party systems or rely on generated material without adequate checks.

The research also captured scepticism about how long the current pace of adoption will continue. Nearly half of office workers, or 49%, said they believe AI fatigue will set in and organisations will return to more traditional ways of working. A further 47% said they believe the market is in an AI bubble that will burst.

Despite those concerns, the data suggests AI has already become embedded in day-to-day office work across Ireland. For many respondents, it is no longer a peripheral tool but part of the normal workflow.

Landmark, which provides IT and cybersecurity services, said the findings show a need for stronger governance as companies integrate AI more deeply into operations. The company said widespread use, patchy training and informal decision-making indicate that many organisations have not fully adapted their controls to match employee behaviour.

"Two-in-five Irish employees now say AI is essential to doing their job, which is a remarkable shift in a very short space of time. It points to the crucial role AI is playing in Irish workplaces through automation, time savings, and enhanced decision-making. Yet our research shows many organisations have not kept pace with this change. The human element remains vital, and businesses need to prioritise AI training and upskilling to align with evolving technological demands and stay competitive. With employees sharing confidential data on unapproved tools and using AI outputs without checking them, strict oversight is needed. Employers must ensure stringent processes are in place to protect not only their own business data and operations, but those of their customers too," said Ken Kelleher, Managing Director, Landmark Technologies.